Zimmerman Recounts Shooting in Police Interview

George Zimmerman's defense team released a series of audio and video files late on Wednesday, including a recording of an initial interview with police just after the shooting of Trayvon Martin in February.

The files were posted on Zimmerman's defense website, which as of Thursday a.m. was no longer loading. But in one recording, according to CNN, Zimmerman told police just after Martin's shooting death that he thought the teenager was reaching for his firearm, which he said was exposed in a physical confrontation between the two.

In Zimmerman's words: "When I slid, my jacket and my shirt came up, and when he said, 'You're going to die tonight,' I felt his hand go down my side, and I thought he was going for my firearm, so I grabbed it immediately, and as he banged my head again, I just pulled out my firearm and shot him." Zimmerman also says that Martin repeatedly slammed his head into the sidewalk as the two fought.

As Florida-based WFTV notes, the tapes released also include a video re-enactment of the confrontation. According to a Notice of Reciprocal Discovery also posted on the site, the files released will be introduced as evidence in the Zimmerman case. Zimmerman faces charges of second-degree murder for Martin's death. Zimmerman claims he acted in self-defense.

The defense's document dump comes after a string of releases from the prosecution, the most recent of which included recordings of Zimmerman talking to his wife Shellie from jail.