Ronald Felton, 60, has been identified as the latest victim. He was on his way to volunteer with the homeless when someone shot him
The funeral was held for the latest victim of a suspected serial killer targeting a Tampa neighborhood.
Ronald Felton, 60, was shot dead on November 14 as he was walking to volunteer at a food pantry at Seminole Heights – where the suspected killer has murdered at least four people since October.
‘If you knew him, you seen his caring service; he was the Superman of service,’ one man said at the service, according to FOX 13 Tampa. ‘I was the supervisor at the food bank, but he was the one in charge.’
His family members said they are not mad at the person who took his life, but pleaded for the killing to stop.
‘If you got a heart, please turn yourself in, that’s all we want,’ Felton’s twin brother Reggie said.
Police and residents have been on high alert since October when 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was shot to death.
The funeral was held for Felton on Sunday. He is the latest victim of a suspected serial killer targeting a Tampa neighborhood, usually people travelling before sunrise
Two days later, 32-year-old Monica Hoffa was murdered and on October 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was slain after taking the wrong bus home from his new job.
The murders have left residents scared and city officials frustrated because there have been no arrests, despite a reward of more than $100,000 for information to help solve the case.
The department has received some 1,100 tips. The mounted horse patrols in the neighborhood began on Friday and extend through the weekend.
Ronald Felton, 60, was shot dead on November 14 as he was walking to volunteer at a food pantry at Seminole Heights – where the suspected killer has murdered at least four people since October
Last week, Tampa police released new video of man they believe is behind the murders.
Cops shared the new footage of a the suspect stalking his 60-year-old victim early on Tuesday November 14 morning in the murder-plagued neighborhood.
Police in Florida have all but confirmed that the man responsible for killing Mr Felton this week is also the same man who killed three people in a 10-day span last month.
Police in Florida have all but confirmed that the man responsible for killing Mr Felton this week is also the same man who killed three people in a 10-day span last month
Police Chief Brian Dugan says they haven’t been able to connect all four murders to one suspect yet, but they believe the suspect of last Tuesday’s shooting was at least responsible for the first murder on October 9 as well.
‘We can’t say this person has done all of the homicides,’ Dugan said. ‘But we are pretty convinced this person has committed at least two of them.’
Cops shared the new footage of a the suspect stalking his 60-year-old victim early on Tuesday November 14 morning in the murder-plagued neighborhood
On Wednesday, police released a video showing surveillance footage of the suspect in the first and fourth shootings.
They show a man of a similar build and gait, walking around the neighborhood with his hood pulled up.
‘That’s why we’re convinced, when you look at the (clothes) they way the person walks….we think that’s our suspect,’ Dugan said.
Police finally have a profile of the suspect. He’s described as a thin black male who is about 6′ to 6’2′ tall, with a light complexion.
Law enforcement briefly placed the neighborhood on lockdown while they searched for the suspect
Investigators believe that the suspect lives in the neighborhood, a working-class district that has been gentrifying.
Police ask asking anyone with information about a possible suspect to come forward.
The reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest has been raised to $91,000 thanks to funds donated from the FBI.
They also asked residents to check their gun safes to make sure their guns were accounted for, on the chance that a loved one is the killer and has been using one of their weapons.
The map above shows where the four shootings have taken place in the neighborhood
Police have also ordered residents to keep their porch lights on between the hours of 6pm and 6am, since the killer strikes under the cover of darkness.
The most recent attack happened on Tuesday, at 4:51am.
Ronald Felton was gunned down as he crossed the street on the way to feed the homeless at a local church.
Police said the victim, a construction worker and father of three adult children, was crossing at Nebraska and Wilder when a man dressed in all black came up behind him and shot him.
The October 9 murder of Benjamin Mitchell was the first of three murders carried out in the span of 10 days. Police believe the same man may be responsible for the latest killing and last month’s murders
His murder, in the city’s Seminole Heights neighborhood, is close to where three other people were murdered in apparently random shootings.
Benjamin Mitchell became the first victim on October 9, when he was shot dead after getting off a bus in the neighborhood at night.
Two days after Mitchell, 22, was shot, Monica Hoffa, 32, was gunned down. And on October 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was shot after taking the wrong bus home from his new job. Police patrolling nearby heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene to find Naiboa dead.