Third person shot dead within days in Florida community
Residents are starting to worry after three people have been shot to death in less than two weeks in a Tampa neighborhood, according to reports.
Tampa police are investigating a third fatal shooting in Seminole Heights that occurred Thursday night on North 15th Street near Conover Street, according to Bay News 9.
It’s the third fatal shooting in the area in 10 days.
In a news conference Friday, Interim Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said said, “if you're walking alone, you're either a suspect or a potential victim.”
Officers were patroling the area when they heard gunshots. Shortly after, they found a man, identified as 20-year-old Anthony Naiboa, shot in the street, Dugan said. He died at the scene.
His father called Tampa police Thursday night, worried that he had not come home, Dugan said. Police had to tell Naiboa’s father later that his eldest son, a Middleton High School graduate, had been killed.
The shooting occurred just feet away from where Monica Hoffa was shot and killed last week and down the street from where Benjamin Mitchell was shot dead last Monday, according to Bay News 9.
Mitchell, 22, was shot and killed around 8 p.m. Monday near North 15th Street and East Frierson Avenue, according to Bay News 9 and Tampa police.
“We have someone terrifying the neighborhood,” Dugan said.
Police believe Hoffa, 32, was fatally shot late Oct. 11 or 12 in the 1000 block of East New Orleans Avenue. Her body was found the morning of Oct. 13, Bay News 9 reported.
It remains unclear if the victims were familiar with each other or if they knew their killer but police have said they believe the deaths of Hoffa and Mitchell are related.
Residents of the area are concerned about the possibility of a serial killer, but police are not going as far to say if that’s what they’re dealing with, according to Bay News 9.
Police said they have no leads or motive as of Friday afternoon but the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 813-231-6130.
Crime Stoppers and the ATF are offering an $18,000 reward in the cases, according to WFLA Channel 8.
This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 6:56 AM with the headline "Third person shot dead within days in Florida community."