Polk County’s 2012 high school football player of the year has been killed in a Haines City shooting.
Police report Sykeem Pitts had attended an outdoor street party called Chunky Sunday shortly before the shooting.
Chief Richard Sloan said Pitts had previous issues with Jozeph Turpin and ran into Turpin at the party. Turpin and a third man, Darius Himes were injured in the shooting.
Turpin faces a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Investigators report they are having a difficult time getting potential witnesses to talk about the incident along Martin Luther King Way.
"Because at this point we only have one person who is talking to us and they are telling us a certain story. We are looking for other witnesses to verify his story or tell us what actually went on,” said Sloan.
Pitts’ grieving family members gathered at his home Monday hoping to get answers about what had happened. His aunt was hoping for an end to violence in her neighborhood.
"All this violence needs to stop. They need to think about the next person when are shooting instead of just shooting everywhere,” said Kasandra Fields.
Shykeem Pitts attended Ridge Community High School and had signed an athletic scholarship with Marshall University in 2013 but wasn’t able to attend the school after a robbery arrest in 2013.