Halloween in Seminole Heights: Mayor, Police Chief Will Be There

TAMPA, FL - Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and interim Police Chief Brian Dugan plan to celebrate Halloween on Tuesday evening by greeting community members, handing out candy at Giddens Park, and then joining the kids for some trick or treating in the Southeast Seminole Heights area.

The mayor and police chief will be in Giddens Park, 5202 N 12th St., from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday. They will be joined by several Tampa officers, including mounted officers on horseback and Florida Highway Patrol troopers.

The Seminole Heights neighborhood has been on edge since three shooting deaths occurred in the span of 11 days. Police say they have no motive, but authorities consider the shootings to be related.

Anthony Naiboa, the latest victim, was a 20-year-old Middleton High School graduate who was shot and killed on a sidewalk at N 15th and E. Conover streets on Oct. 19. Prior to Naiboa's death, 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell and Monica Hoffa, 32, were found shot to death. Mitchell was shot on Oct. 9 and Hoffa's body was found on Oct. 13.

In the wake of the recent homicides, Dugan has advised residents not to walk alone, especially after sunset. Residents expressed concerns about trick or treating on Halloween, Dugan said last week that police will have a significant presence in Southeast Seminole Heights on Halloween night, adding that he would join children trick or treating in the community.

"I'm gonna go out there," the police chief said last week."I'll be personally on patrol, and you know what? If somebody wants to walk with me, they can walk with me. I'll walk with their family and get candy with them. I might even take some of their candy."

About 6 p.m., the mayor and police chief will start walking the Southeast Seminole Heights community, greeting residents and joining children as they go trick or treating in the neighborhood. Parents are being asked to accompany their children, and residents are being asked to turn on their porch lights to welcome trick or treaters.

Along with a heavy police presence, the Tampa chapter of the Guardian Angels also will be on the streets in Seminole Heights for Halloween. The volunteer group says they are committed to being out every night through Halloween.

Image via City of Tampa