WASHINGTON

The Justice Department says George Zimmerman will not face federal civil rights charges in the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The department announced its decision Tuesday, saying there was not enough evidence to bring federal civil rights charges, which would have required proof that the killing was motivated by racial animosity. “This young man’s premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”

Mr. Zimmerman, a former Neighborhood Watch volunteer, was acquitted of second-degree murder in July 2013. He has said he shot Mr. Martin in self-defense during a confrontation inside a gated community in Sanford, Fla.

The case created national concern and conversation about race and self-defense gun laws. The teen, who had purchased a bag of Skittles and iced tea at a nearby convenience store, was walking back to his father’s townhouse when he was killed. He was unarmed.