Angela B. Corey, the prosecutor, said Mr. Zimmerman, 28, a crime watch volunteer, will appear before a magistrate within the next 24 hours. He is accused of fatally shooting Mr. Martin, an unarmed teenager, in a case that has captivated the country and brought to the fore issues of race, violence and precisely what constitutes self-defense.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” Ms. Corey said. She added: “Let me emphasize that we do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. “
“We will continue to seek the truth about this case,” she said.
Critical to the prosecution will be whether or not the shooting fell under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which gives wide leeway to people who claim self-defense, and which does not require people to retreat before using deadly force.
Earlier this week, Ms. Corey announced that she had decided not to convene a grand jury to investigate the shooting and would herself make the ultimate decision as to whether to charge Mr. Zimmerman.
Mr. Zimmerman has been in hiding for the past several weeks after having received death threats. He has not spoken publicly since the shooting . On Tuesday, Mr. Zimmerman’s lawyers, Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig, announced that they were withdrawing from his legal team. They said they were worried about Mr. Zimmerman’s state of mind, that he had been in contact with Ms. Corey without consulting them, and that they had not been in communication with him and did not know where he was.
A statement on a Web site set up by Mr. Zimmerman to raise money called the shooting a “life-altering event.”
It is unclear whether Mr. Zimmerman has hired a new lawyer.
The shooting occurred the evening of Feb. 26 when Mr. Martin was walking back from a store to the home of his father’s girlfriend in a gated community in Sanford, just north of Orlando. Mr. Zimmerman, who had called 911 to report a man who he said was behaving suspiciously, had trailed Mr. Martin for several minutes and had continued to do so even after having been advised by a 911 operator that he should stop.
Mr. Zimmerman has told the authorities that Mr. Martin punched him in the face and tried to take his gun. He has said he shot Mr. Martin in self-defense.
After conducting an investigation, the Sanford Police Department said it lacked sufficient evidence to file charges against Mr. Zimmerman, a decision that set off a wave of protests nationwide by people who believed that the shooting had been racially motivated. Mr. Martin is black. Mr. Zimmerman is Hispanic.
Bill Lee Jr., the police chief, announced his resignation on March 22.
The previous prosecutor in the case, State Attorney Norm Wolfinger, had directed the grand jury to convene to hear evidence starting earlier this week. But Mr. Wolfinger, who usually handles cases in Sanford, recused himself after public outcries about the pace of the inquiry.
An investigation by the Justice Department is continuing.
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