Florida Police Chief Calls Suspected Serial Killer His 'Worst Nightmare'
Police in Tampa, Florida, are on alert amid fears that a serial killer is on the loose. Over the span of 11 days, there have been three murders within 10 blocks in Seminole Heights, a working-class neighborhood in central Tampa.
The three victims, who were all shot, have no connection to one another. Investigators said they had no motive for the killings yet and no potential leads. The shootings were linked only by proximity and time frame, police said.
“This is my worst nightmare,” Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan told ABC affiliate WFTV Monday.
All three of the victims were walking alone when they were shot and killed, police said. Benjamin Mitchell, 22, was shot and killed Oct. 9 at a bus stop. Just four days later, 32-year-old Monica Hoffa was shot and killed on a nearby street. Anthony Naiboa, 20, was murdered Oct. 19, a mere 200 yards away from where Mitchell was killed.
“Everybody at this point is a suspect,” Dugan said Monday during a community meeting. “If you are out there walking alone, you are either a suspect or a potential victim.”
Residents and authorities are especially concerned for the safety of those in the neighborhood as children wait for school buses in the morning. Police began escorting students to buses in the morning, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Officers were given a list of bus stops and pick up times in order to monitor the safety of the children, particularly in the early morning.
In addition to those supervising children walking to school, numerous police officers have also been stationed throughout in the community in the wake of the murders, while the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also deployed to aid local authorities, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said. Tampa Police also offered a $25,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the killer.
“There aren’t a lot of facts or evidence, yet,” Buckhorn said. “But it’s not for lack of Tampa Police Department trying. We literally have put bodies out here by the dozens. We’re going to find this guy and we're not leaving this neighborhood till we do.”
Some officials, including Buckhorn, were hesitant to label the three deaths the work of a serial killer. Dugan, however, had no such qualms.
“We can call it what we want,” Dugan said, according to the Associated Press. “If that brings attention this, that’s fine.”
Dugan stated that the Tampa police are “in this for the long haul.”
“We are going to find this person,” Dugan told WFTV.
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