A FOURTH person has been found dead in a Florida neighbourhood plagued by a string of fatal shootings which police suspect were carried out by the same killer.

Tampa police have asked Seminole Heights residents to stay in their homes while they search for the killer, the Bradenton Herald reported.

Police also asked gun-owning residents to make sure their firearms were locked up.

“This has to stop. We will hunt this person down until we find them,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said.

“We need to catch this killer before we have to notify one more family that their loved one is dead.”

The victim was identified as Ronald Felton, 60, who was crossing the street when a tall, thin man wearing a black baseball cap shot him in the back, the New York Postreported.

A witness told police that if he’d been there just seconds earlier, he would have been able to stop the shooting.

The killing is the latest in a string of murders to rock the area.

In October, three people were shot and killed within five days of each other with the cases remaining unsolved.

The most recent shooting occurred about four blocks from where the second victim was gunned down on October 11 and police believe the killer may live in the area.

The search for the shooter has intensified, with police increasing their presence in the neighbourhood and contacting the FBI to help crack the case.

Speaking last month, Mr Buckhorn revealed his determination to catch the “son of a b**ch” killer, telling police to “bring his head to me.”

INNOCENT LIFE TAKEN

SWAT officers, assisted by agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives patrolled the streets with rifles as they moved through yards and knocked on doors following Mr Felton’s death.

Interim Police Chief Brian Dugan said officers responded within seconds of the killing and quickly set up a perimeter around the area.

“We need everyone’s co-operation; we need everyone to pay attention to what’s been going on,” he said.

Meanwhile, family and neighbours have paid tribute to Mr Felton, revealing he had volunteered at a local food bank since losing his job.

Cynthia Murray told The Tampa Bay Times that Mr Felton had been living with her near the shooting scene and was an unemployed construction worker who volunteered on Tuesdays and Fridays at the nearby church-run food bank.

She said he would go to the church at 2.30am to help.

“He didn’t need to come here every week but he loved it,” she said, adding both he and his twin brother, Reggie, were well known in the area.

Mr Felton’s cousin, Linda Daniels expressed her shock over the killing.

“He was the sweetest person, never any problems,” Ms Daniels said.

HUNT STEPS UP

Police have been hesitant to use the words “serial killer”, but are working on the assumption that the murders are related and that the victims were chosen at random.

However, investigators are treating Mr Felton’s killing as if it’s related to last month’s 10-day spree where three people were murdered until it is ruled out otherwise.

So far investigators have no suspects, no leads and no motive and the only clue they have is the CCTV footage.

There are some distinctive similarities in the killings including that the victims walked the streets alone at night after getting off a bus.

They were also killed a few blocks away from each other in a short time frame by a gunshot however, race does not appear to be factor.

Last month Mr Dugan said there was a good chance someone knows who’s doing this, CBS News reported.

“This pains me to tell you that if you’re out there walking alone that you’re either a suspect or a potential victim,” he said.

Seminole Heights is a working-class neighbourhood northeast of Tampa that’s slowly becoming gentrified where run-down homes sit next to renovated, historic bungalows.

According to police the suspect is a thin black man, about 1.8m tall, wearing dark clothing and carrying a large handgun.

They are asking residents to examine video from any security cameras they have.

Police have increased patrols in the area and released surveillance videos of a hooded suspect following the previous three shootings.

THE VICTIMS

In security video taken moments after Benjamin Mitchell, 22, became the first victim on October 9, the suspect is spotted running from the scene.

The city’s police department released an enhanced video that shows a “person of interest” walking towards the scene where Mr Mitchell was shot dead.

The video, which is spliced together from multiple CCTV cameras in various vantage points, later shows the person sprinting away from the scene within seconds of the murder.

Just two days after he was killed, Monica Hoffa, 32, was gunned down.

Then on October 19, Anthony Naiboa, 20, was shot on North 15th St.

The 20-year-old high school graduate had finished his day at his food distribution plant job when he stepped on to the wrong bus.

He got off in the neighbourhood of Seminole Heights and began walking to another bus stop to make his way home when he was gunned down.

With two previous killings in the area, his worried parents began fearing the worst.

Mr Naiboa’s father Casimir and his stepmother Maria Rodriguez heard a news flash a few hours later, adding to their fears.

“I felt a chill go down my spine”, Mr Naiboa told the Tampa Bay Times.

A police officer turned up a few hours later confirming the bad news.

Neighbours have also revealed how they’re now living in fear following the latest killing, not knowing who is committing the crime.

Jamie Rivera, 40, said he was taking his two children to school when he saw the heavy police presence. He turned on the radio and heard about the latest killing.

“We’re all panicking,” he said.

“It’s kind of scary because they don’t have any idea who’s doing it.”

- with the Associated Press and New York Post