The Florida man who killed an unarmed black teenager in a dispute over loud music has taken the stand at his murder trial. In 2012, Michael David Dunn pulled up next to a car of teenagers to ask them to turn their stereo down. Following an argument, Dunn shot eight or nine times into the vehicle, even after the teens tried to drive away, fatally hitting 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis. Testifying for the first time on Tuesday, Dunn claimed he feared for his life.

Michael Dunn: “When this 'I should kill that m—————r,' comes through, now I’m paying attention to what they’re saying.”

Attorney: “OK, that kind of got you to perk up?”

Michael Dunn: “Yes. And in an even more elevated voice, I hear, 'I should f——-g kill that m—————r!' And now he’s screaming. But he said he was going to f’ing kill me, but after he opened the door, then he looked at me and said, ’You’re dead, bitch!’ I became even more fearful at that point. OK, say over here is my glovebox. I’m looking out the window, and I say, ’You’re not gonna kill me, you son of a bitch!’ And I shot.”

Attorney: “OK. And do you even recall how many times you shot?”

Michael Dunn: “I do not.”

The young men never got out of their car. No weapons were ever found in the teenagers’ vehicle. Dunn fled the scene instead of calling the police, went to a hotel with his girlfriend and ordered pizza. The shooting has prompted comparisons to the death of Trayvon Martin. Dunn is expected to use the Stand Your Ground defense, which was invoked in the jury instructions during the trial of Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman.