Tampa police release more video of person of interest in 3 killings
The video is at times in color and is captured from various angles.
— -- Police in Tampa, Florida, today released extended surveillance video of a person of interest who they believe may have some knowledge of three slayings over 11 days in the Seminole Heights neighborhood, which have terrorized residents there.
The compilation of surveillance recordings is mostly in black and white and at times in color, captured by different cameras from various angles.
Police are focusing on the person of interest, who's seen in the video walking and, at times, running along a street close to where, around 9 p.m. on Oct. 9, 22-year-old college student Benjamin Mitchell was shot and killed at a bus stop near his home.
Two days later, Monica Hoffa, 32, was shot in the evening while attempting to meet up with a friend, police said.
Two days elapsed before Hoffa's remains turned up in a vacant lot on New Orleans Avenue East.
On Oct. 19 at 8 p.m., Anthony Naiboa, 20, was shot to death on North 15th Street shortly after he got off a bus at the wrong stop.
Naiboa's death was the third slaying in the area in less than two weeks. Police said they believe the killings are linked.
"We believe this is the same person we saw walking just moments earlier," interim Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said today during a news conference. "He is running in the other direction ... We believe this is the same person, once again, running away from the scene of the shooting."
In multiple recordings, the slender individual, wearing pants and a hooded windbreaker, is seen flipping a cellphone with the right hand.
Later in the almost two-minute video, the same person looks at the phone.
Dugan cautioned the public that the reason to pursue the person in the video is to drum up leads in a case that has stalled.
"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."
A video released by police on Oct. 17 shows the same individual walking down a street on the same night Mitchell died.
Dugan said the original, pixelated video is significant and "in many ways the best video that we have" because it shows the person of interest "very near the scene of the shooting."
But the release of more video of the same person, whom Dugan repeatedly referred to as "he," doesn't necessarily mean that individual is the killer.
Dugan clarified to ABC News that the person of interest is not necessarily a man.
He also stressed that "we believe that this person has ties to the neighborhood, and we want to speak to him."
Dugan wondered why the person has yet to come forward to answer their questions.
"Why, after this long? We've had this video out there for so long. Why has he not come forward?" he asked.
Dugan then took time to evaluate the person's attire.
"Look at the style of clothing," he said, referring to the person's hooded top and tight-fitting pants. "Is it a rain jacket? Is it a long thin T-shirt-style hoodie? Someone has to know who wears clothing like that."
"These are questions I can't answer, but someone who knows this individual walking in this video and later running from the area could possibly give us answers," he said.
When pressed by reporters today, Dugan attempted to answer the questions.
"I've come up with four reasons why this person is running. One, they may be late for dinner. Two, they're out exercising. Three, they heard gunshots. And number four, they just murdered Benjamin Mitchell."
ABC News' Victor Oquendo contributed to this report.