'HE WAS MY LITTLE MAN': Three arrested, charged with murder in teen's shooting (PHOTOS)

FORT WALTON BEACH — Three teens have been arrested in connection to the shooting death of Christopher D. Pitcock.

Timothy Preston Chavers, 17, of 137 Moriarity Street in Fort Walton Beach, was charged with attempted armed robbery and murder. Tyree Rashand Washington, 16, of 349 W. Hollywood Blvd, faces the same charges as does Kyle Markeith Walling, 16, of 7 Evans Avenue in Navarre.

All three were transferred to the custody of Okaloosa Regional Detention Center. The police department announced the arrests in a 2 a.m. press release Saturday. The release did not give additional information on how the individuals were identified as suspects.

“It’s a weight off of our shoulders,” said Paula Wood, Pitcock’s aunt. “They got full confessions from them.”

The arrests were made based on the investigation and post miranda confessions from the teens, according to arrest reports from the Fort Walton Beach Police Department. Chavers, Washington and Walling tried to rob Pitcock at the intersection of Lula Belle Lane and Oakland Circle on Thursday night at about 6:15 p.m. Pitcock, who was 17, died after being shot in his SUV.

Wood visited Lula Belle Lane Saturday afternoon. Teens gathered at the scene of Pitcock’s death until 4 a.m. and had left flowers and candles.

Investigators shared the details of the confession with Pitcock’s family Saturday morning. The teens were armed with a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum at the time of the robbery, according to the arrest reports.

“We found out he went to school with all three of those kids. He did know them,” Wood said. “My question is where did the 17-year-old get the gun in the first place?”

Arrangements for Pitcock’s funeral have been made at Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach. A viewing will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Christopher Pitcock memorial fund at any Suntrust Bank. The fund will be used to cover funeral expenses.

For Friday's story, read below.

FORT WALTON BEACH -- While police continued to investigate the shooting death of a local high school student, his family gathered Friday at his home and wept for the loss of 17-year-old Christopher Pitcock.

“He was my little man. He was my baby,” said his father, David Pitcock, tears tracking down his weather-beaten face.

“And I miss him,” he sobbed. “I really miss him.”

Click to view photos of Chris Pitcock and the scene of the shooting »

Chris was found shot Thursday night in his 1987 Chevrolet Blazer in the front yard of a home on Lula Belle Lane.

He was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

No arrests have been made in the case, which is being investigated by the Fort Walton Beach Police Department as a homicide.

The man who found the Blazer and the teenager in his yard said Chris was slipping away as they waited for emergency crews to arrive.

Standing on a front lawn still littered with medical debris, John Purdy said he heard a loud noise at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

He looked outside to see the Blazer hit his garbage can, take out his mailbox and finally stop with two wheels on his lawn.

He ran out and put the SUV, which was still running, into park. Purdy said he didn’t see any blood and assumed the young man at the wheel was having seizures, he said. He told a neighbor to call 911.

“I said, ‘You better hurry up,’” Purdy recalled saying to the first emergency crews to arrive. “I think he’s dead.”

Chris’ family said they were called to the hospital and told Chris had been shot and that he hadn’t made it. They were not allowed to see him and were told not to plan services until next week.

Dozens of Chris’ friends gathered there, mourning the passing of the boy who would do anything for anyone.

Family friend Dustin Cooper called Chris an “awesome kid,” who worked hard for everything he had.

“He’s 17 years old,” Cooper added. “That’s the hardest part of the whole thing. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

Cooper said family members don’t know exactly where Chris was going or what he was doing when he was shot. The Pitcocks live more than a mile from Lula Belle Lane.

“You never saw him without a smile,” said his aunt, Paula Wood. “Never did he walk away from anybody without saying, ‘I love you.’ ”

His nickname was “Fatty,” and he was a bit on the chunky side, his family recalled, smiling through their tears. His favorite food was banana pudding and he would call his aunt at random times and ask her to make it for him.

“He was so sweet,” Wood said.

Chris was his father’s only son, though he has two older half brothers.

As soon as he was old enough to start working, he focused on earning money to buy all of the things his family had done without during his childhood.

He bought the Blazer, which was his pride and joy, and for Christmas bought all of the presents for his four young nieces and nephews.

He worked in a lawn maintenance business with his father and did telemarketing.

His goal was to graduate from the Okaloosa Academy this spring, a year ahead of schedule. No one in his family had ever graduated early before, which is why that meant so much to Chris, his aunt said.

Few details about the shooting have been released by the police.

Investigators were talking to neighbors on Lula Belle Lane on Friday morning.

They also were taking measurements at Lou Wasylik’s house where a bullet had splintered a porch railing. His house is two doors down from where Chris’ SUV stopped.

Wasylik and his wife said they heard a loud noise and thought something had hit their front window. Flashing emergency lights drew them outside a few minutes later.

Friday morning, on a street crowded with police cars, Wasylik said he no longer feels as safe as he used to.

“This used to be a great neighborhood but this worries me now,” he said. “(That bullet) could have come through the window and hit my wife and I.”

Anyone with information about the shooting should call 833-9546.

How to Help: Donations may be made to the Christopher Pitcock Memorial Fund at SunTrust Bank His family is requesting help to bury him and pay his medical costs. They are also hoping to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot him.