Members of the Tampa Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office work the scene of a fatal shooting in the Seminole Heights neighborhood in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Police and federal agents with rifles checked car trunks, banged on doors and gathered forensic evidence in the neighborhood Tuesday as they hunted for the killer believed responsible for gunning down several people for no apparent reason in just over a month. (Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Republished November 15, 2017 - 1:05 PM
Original Publication Date November 15, 2017 - 1:16 AM
TAMPA, Fla. - An unidentified man who appeared on surveillance video near two of four shootings in a Florida neighbourhood is officially a suspect, police said Wednesday.
Interim Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan showed both videos during a news conference, though neither shows an actual shooting.
The first video shows a man walking about the time of the first fatal shooting on Oct. 9. The second video shows the same man walking early Tuesday morning about the time of 60-yar-old Ronald Felton's slaying, Dugan said.
The chief implored any member of the community who might recognize the man to contact police.
"Someone has to know who this individual is," Dugan said.
The figure on both videos matched witness descriptions of a black male, 6 feet to 6-foot-2, with a thin build and light complexion.
Law enforcement spent Tuesday canvassing the Seminole Heights neighbourhood, shutting down streets and knocking on doors. No arrests were made.
Dugan noted Wednesday that the total reward for information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction is up to $91,000. That includes $50,000 from the FBI, $20,000 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, $10,000 from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, $5,000 from Crime Stoppers and $6,000 from several community fundraisers.
About two dozen detectives continue to go through hours and hours of surveillance footage collected from the neighbourhood, Dugan said. Police had received about 450 tips Tuesday, bringing the total to more than 2,300.
Residents and police have been on edge since Oct. 9, when 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was shot to death. Two days later, 32-year-old Monica Hoffa, was slain. And on Oct. 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was killed after taking the wrong bus home from his new job.
All of the October victims were either getting on or off a city bus, or were at a bus stop when they were shot, police said. It was unclear if Tuesday's victim was near a bus stop.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017