Seminole Heights Shootings: Scott Adds Officers To Neighborhood

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Gov. Rick Scott directed the Florida Highway Patrol to deploy additional officers to the Seminole Heights area that has been terrorized by a serial killer. Scott said he was adding more FHP officers to assist the Tampa Police Department’s efforts to keep the Seminole Heights neighborhood safe.

Scott said the officers will work with Tampa police in patrolling the neighborhood. The deployment of FHP troopers is in addition to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s squad of agents assigned to neighborhood canvassing. FDLE also has agents assigned to vet leads and is providing analytical assistance. FDLE lab analysts continue to process numerous items of evidence. FDLE has also contributed $10,000 to the Crime Stoppers reward. The reward is now at $100,000.

“Safety is our top priority, and we are glad to provide additional state resources from the Florida Highway Patrol and FDLE to the Tampa Police Department to assist in their efforts. I have spoken with Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan and Mayor Bob Buckhorn to offer any resources they may need from the state of Florida," Scott said. "Everyone in the area should continue to listen to local law enforcement who have been working day and night to keep families safe. I am fully confident that our brave law enforcement will bring whoever is responsible for these senseless acts to justice. Our hearts break for the victims of these crimes and their loved ones. Today, we are making it clear – Florida has zero tolerance for violence and crime, and we will stop at nothing to keep our communities safe.”

On Tuesday, Ronald Felton, an unemployed construction worker who was on his way to volunteer at a food bank, was gunned down on Nebraska Avenue about 5 a.m. Police arrived at the shooting scene within minutes, but the suspect escaped. Police say Felton's death is linked to three other killings in the neighborhood last month.

The former "person of interest" in the Seminole Heights shootings is now considered a suspect, Dugan said Wednesday. At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, the police chief showed a video taken moments before Tuesday's shooting and police believe that person is also shown in a video taken in the area where the first shooting occurred on Oct. 9 . Benjamin Mitchell was shot and died from his wounds. The new video can be viewed here.

Dugan said police don't believe it is a coincidence that the same person was in the area of Tuesday morning's shooting and the Oct. 9 shooting.

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

The first victim, Mitchell, 22, was waiting at the Route 9 bus stop on 15th Street on his way to see his girlfriend when he was shot. The body of Monica Hoffa, 32, was found on Oct. 13. Anthony Naiboa, a 20-year-old Middleton High School graduate, was shot and killed on a sidewalk at N 15th and E. Conover streets on Oct. 19.

Hoffa, a waitress at a local IHOP, was walking to a friend's home when she was shot. Her body was found in a vacant lot. Naiboa had mistakenly taken the wrong bus to return home from work and was walking to a bus stop on 15th Street when he was shot about 8 p.m. on Oct. 19.

Also See: Police: Man In Video Is Suspected Serial Killer

Image via City of Tampa