Community shaken after fourth person shot as police search for killer

The residents of Seminole Heights, shaken by a fourth fatal shooting since October, are looking over their shoulders as law enforcement continues their search for a killer.

A community meeting was held Tuesday night, hours after a fourth person was found shot dead in the community since Oct. 9.

Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said at the meeting that police are responding to the shootings as if they are related, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.

Dugan said they are still looking for information on the suspect, described as a black male standing about 6 feet tall with a thin build wearing all black clothing. Dugan believes the killer lives in the Seminole Heights area.

“Was there someone missing from your house between the hours of 4:30 this morning and 5:15 or 5:30?” Dugan asked at Tuesday night's meeting, according to Bay News 9. “Was there someone that should have been home in your house at that time frame that wasn't? Because if they weren't, we want to know about it.”

Officials, including officers and agents from the police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FBI and ATF, searched the area house by house for hours Tuesday after Ronnie Felton, 60, was found dead. Schools were placed in a lock-in status, residents were asked not to leave their homes and roads were shut down, WFLA News Channel 8 reported.

Still, the killer has yet to be found.

“This has got to stop. We will hunt this person down until we find them,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn at a news conference Tuesday morning.

“We are not happy. This is not the way we protect our neighborhoods…we are not ready to give up,” Dugan said during a neighborhood watch meeting Tuesday night, according to ABC Action News.

Police are asking the community to share any information they have about who may be responsible for the series of slayings. Officers are also working with residents to make sure their security systems are on and recording, according to Bay News 9.

Tuesday, Dugan also encouraged residents who owned firearms to check that their guns are where they are supposed to be.

Police also released a grainy, black and white video of a person walking shortly after one of the shootings about a month ago and are asking residents to watch it again and provide investigators with any relevant information.

Anyone with information should call Tampa police at 813-231-6130.

Living in fear

With four people now shot and killed while walking alone in the dark, residents of the Seminole Heights community are changing their routines.

Yvonne Wainwright told WFLA she usually allows her grandson to walk to school, but now she shows up late to work to make sure she can drop him off first.

“It is very scary,” Wainwright told WFLA.

But she’s not the only lone looking over her shoulder. Denise Christian has lived in the community for 25 years and said she has never seen anything like this, according to WFLA.

“This person could be in our backyard ya know, and it’s just dangerous,” Denise Christian told WFLA .“Just to stay together and be aware, ya know, and stay locked up. Ya know, watch our surroundings.”

Despite the FBI’s presence, those who live there are still concerned for their safety.

“I hope they catch the guy. I hope he gets caught so we can go live our normal lives, not be so afraid,” Paul Velez told WFLA after seeing the FBI take over a nearby parking lot.

Remembering victims

Felton died Tuesday after he was shot from behind on his way to help feed the homeless at a church just before 5 a.m. on Nebraska Avenue at East McBerry Street. Police believe he is the fourth victim of the shooter they are searching for.

“Basically, he was a loving person. He wasn't a violent person. He was a quiet person,” Felton’s sister, Sheryl Hicks Kelly told WTSP.

Tina Felton, another of his sisters, told WTSP she told him not to walk alone.

“You walk out your door and somebody just shoot you for no reason all he was doing was helping the homeless,” the victim's sister, Tina told FOX 13.

In October, three people — Benjamin Mitchell, 22, Monica Hoffa, 32, and Anthony Naiboa, 20 — were shot and killed within 10 days of each other in the same community. The cases remain unsolved.

The latest shooting occurred a few blocks away from where Hoffa was shot and killed on Oct. 11, according to ABC Action News.

Police have been heavily patrolling the area since the investigations began.

This story was originally published November 15, 2017 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Community shaken after fourth person shot as police search for killer."