Watch: Florida Police Release Video In Hunt For Suspected Serial Killer

Police in Florida released new video Thursday in the hunt for a suspected killer. Three similar murders over the course of just 10 days have prompted fears of a serial killer on the loose in the neighborhood of Seminole Heights. Police believe the murders are related due to their proximity to each other.

The video released by police Thursday was taken Oct. 9, the night the first murder took place. Twenty-two-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was killed at a bus stop that evening. The newly released footage showed a person clad in a hooded sweatshirt running away from the scene of the murder.

Police called the figure in the video a “person of interest” and said they would like to speak with them. Interim Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan urged the public at a press conference Thursday not to jump to conclusions based on the video.

“I’ve come up with four reasons why this person is running,” he said. “One, they may be late for dinner. Two, they’re out exercising. Three, they heard gunshots. And number four, they just murdered Benjamin Mitchell.”

Authorities seized upon one specific detail of the video. The person in question appeared to flip his phone in a unique way during the video.

“The reason I focus in on the flip is because I’ve tried to do that myself several times and have dropped my phone,” said Dugan. “Now, I’m not a millennial, I’m not part of the selfie generation, I don’t know if that is common. But I can tell you I’ve asked others to do that and they’ve dropped their phones. That might be a habit of this person. At this point, everything is a clue.”

As the hunt for the murderer continues, residents were told to keep porch lights on and stay in groups should they go out. Police were assigned to walk children to school in the morning and were stationed on patrol throughout the community.

“This guy is not going to win,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told officers Wednesday afternoon. “He’s not taking over this neighborhood. You guys go hunt him down and bring his head to me.”