3rd Seminole Heights Shooting Victim Took Wrong Bus Home From Work

TAMPA, FL - Police believe a shooting death in Seminole Heights Thursday night, the third in the same area in the last 11 days, is linked to the other homicides, Acting Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said Friday.

Police identified the third victim as Anthony Taino Naiboa, a 20-year-old Middleton High School graduate who was shot and killed on a sidewalk at N 15th and E. Conover streets. Dugan said police heard gunshots while patrolling the area Thursday night and found the body.

Before the body had been identified, detectives canvassing the neighborhood had learned that Naiboa's parents were concerned that he had not come home yet. Naiboa, who is autistic, had taken a city bus and was expected home by that time.

But Dugan said Naiboa took the wrong bus home from work. "He should not have been in this neighborhood," the police chief said. Naiboa was walking to another bus stop when he was shot.

Dugan said the shooter is "terrorizing" the neighborhood. "It is difficult to see this happen," he said. "It's frustrating that no one has seen anything or heard anything (Thursday night)," said Dugan.

Crime Stoppers and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have teamed up to raise the reward in the case to $25,000.

Last week, police said they believe the shooting deaths of 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell and Monica Hoffa, 32, are related. Dugan said at a news conference last week that the two shootings have no clear motives and no clear connection between them, but that detectives believe they are linked by proximity and circumstances.

Dugan said the shootings last week occurred within 10 blocks of each other. Dugan added: "If you are walking alone in this neighborhood, you are either a suspect or a potential victim."

Dugan also had a message for the suspect: "Enough is enough," he said. "You have severely affected some families."

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On Oct. 9, Benjamin Edward Mitchell, 22, was shot and killed about 9 p.m. while waiting at a bus stop near N. 15th Street and E. Frierson Avenue. It appears that he was alone. Mitchell is a 22-year-old African-American man. The shooting Thursday occurred a few hundred feet from the murder of Mitchell.

Monica Caridad Hoffa is a 32-year-old white woman. She was shot and killed in the 1000 block of E. New Orleans Avenue. Her body was found early Friday, Oct. 13.

Dugan said Mitchell has no criminal background. "He's a good person who comes from a good family and he was just an innocent victim,” he said.

He described Hoffa as having "some challenges in her life," but added that she was another innocent victim.

Detectives have gone through the neighborhood, talking with residents, collecting surveillance video, and showing residents a video of a man who was walking in the area when the first murder occurred.

Detectives are urging members of the public to watch a surveillance video from the night of the Oct. 9 shooting, and help police identify the man in the video. Detectives want to talk with him because he was in the area the night of the first shooting. The video can be viewed here.

Police also are urging residents in the Seminole Heights area to be vigilant and follow some basic safety tips.
Don't walk alone at night. If you must be out walking after dark, arrange to have a friend join you. Turn on outdoor lights, such as front porch lights. Tampa police can provide light bulbs if necessary. Report any suspicious activity to police at 813-231-6130.

Anyone with any information regarding the identity of the suspect for suspects and who wants to be eligible for a cash reward is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477 (TIPS), report anonymously online at www.crimestopperstb.com or send a mobile tip using the P3 Tips Mobile application. Crime Stoppers must be contacted first in order to be eligible for a cash reward. ATF is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the unknown suspect or suspects involved in the homicide cases.

The total cash reward of up to $25,000 may be split if multiple suspects are identified and arrested.

Image via Tampa Police Department