George Zimmerman's estranged wife called police officers to her father's house in Florida on Monday, saying the former neighbourhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of murder threatened her with a gun.


Shellie Zimmerman called police shortly after 2 p.m. ET Monday, said police Chief Steve Bracknell.


Zimmerman was not arrested and officers were at the house trying to determine what happened, Bracknell said. "We've only heard one side of the story so far," he said.


Shellie Zimmerman in a divorce petition filed last week she said she and her husband separated a month after Zimmerman was acquitted of any crime for fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last July in Sanford, just a few kilometres away from Lake Mary.


Zimmerman's acquittal led to protests nationwide.


Shellie Zimmerman was asking that her husband pay for a permanent life insurance policy with her named as the beneficiary, according to a divorce petition made public last week.


In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America that aired last Friday, Zimmerman said her husband left her with "a bunch of pieces of broken glass" after the acquittal. She said he only stayed in their house three or four nights since the trial ended and that they even tried counselling. But she moved out Aug. 13.


"I have a selfish husband and I think George is all about George," she said.


George Zimmerman and his lawyers have made no public statements on the divorce proceedings. An email to Zimmerman's lawyers weren't immediately answered.


'News is a business - not your friend.'


George Zimmerman's brother Robert Zimmerman Jr., tweeted that "we've learned from GZ case not to 'jump to conclusions,' to wait for facts, & to avoid speculation. 'News' is a business — not your friend."


Last month, Shellie Zimmerman, 26, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour perjury charge for lying about the couple's finances during a bail hearing following her husband's arrest after Martin's shooting.


George Zimmerman, 29, said he acted in self-defence when he killed Martin and the polarizing case opened up national discussions on self-defence laws and race. Martin was black. Zimmerman has a white father and Hispanic mother.


Shellie Zimmerman was sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service. Her husband did not attend the sentencing hearing in the Sanford courtroom.