Arrest made in death of 11 year-old

A Walker Upper Elementary student who was shot and killed early this morning, one day before school let out, was a good student with a talent for basketball and looking forward to his next year at Buford Middle School, according to Charlottesville school officials.

Aziz Damar Booth, 11, of Charlottesville, was found slain in the kitchen of his home at 330 Sixth ½ St. this morning with a fa-tal gunshot wound after what may have been a botched robbery, according to city police. The robbery left 23-year-old Rueben Lewis III hospitalized at the University of Virginia Medical Center with a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

Police arrested another neighbor, Waverly “Eddie” Whitlock, 27, on charges of capital murder, robbery, malicious wounding and other related charges. Police said that Whitlock reported to police headquarters of his own accord where he was arrested.

Rosa Atkins, school superintendent, said Booth walked across the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center stage earlier this week in a graduation celebration recognizing his passage from Walker to Buford Middle School next year. She said Booth was a good student who also attended recent graduation ceremonies at Buford.

“He liked all of his classes and had a passion for basketball and other sports,” Atkins said during a noon press conference out-side of the Charlottesville Police Department. “He was a friend of everyone.”

She said the school system is setting up an Aziz Booth Memorial Fund on the family’s behalf. She also said that counselors would be on hand at the school today and during Wednesday’s final day of school. Counselors will also be made available throughout the city’s communities for staff, students or family who may seek assistance.

“We know the grief process takes a long time for individuals to get through so we will set up special centers in our communi-ties to help with that process,” Atkins said.

Police say they found Booth when they answered a shots-fired call in the neighborhood and found Lewis suffering from a gun-shot wound. Lewis directed police to the house where Booth was found.

Whitlock is being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Timothy J. Longo, Charlottesville police chief, said the fact that Whitlock has been charged with robbery could lead one to as-sume that robbery was the motive in the shooting, but he stopped short of confirming that.

“There’s obviously sufficient evidence to charge [Whitlock] with robbery, but this has been a very complex crime scene investi-gation and there’s still a lot more to be done,” he said.

Longo said Whitlock and Lewis apparently knew each other, but declined to elaborate on their relationship. He said Lewis is Booth’s mother’s boyfriend.