Oct. 26 (UPI) — Police in Florida released new video Thursday of a suspected serial killer believed to be responsible for three slayings in a Tampa neighborhood.
The Tampa police department shared video of a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and running along a street near where the first victim, Benjamin Mitchell, was shot and killed Oct. 9.
“We believe this is the same person we saw walking just moments earlier,” Tampa Police Interim Police Chief Brian Dugan told WFTS. “He is running in the other direction. We believe this is the same person, once again, running away from the scene of the shooting.”
Dugan described the person in the video as a “person of interest” and hopes the release of the video will lead to more information about the string of killings.
“We are not saying this person is a suspect,” he said. “We believe this person saw or heard something that could be a key to solving these murders. We believe this person has ties to the neighborhood.”
Police believe the killings of Mitchell, 32-year-old Monica Hoffa and 20-year-old Anthony Naiboa are connected as they all took place over the course of 10 days within about a mile of each other.
The reward for information on the case was raised from $25,000 to $35,000 as Dugan urged the community to help identify the person in the video.
“At this point, everything is a clue, everything is a speculation,” he said. “The bottom line is this person could be completely innocent, but we want to talk to you.”
