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Local family of a Tampa murder victim speaks out

Posted at 6:42 PM, Dec 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-13 14:11:09-05

A Las Vegas family is heartbroken after one of their own was a victim of the senseless Tampa shootings.

22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell grew up in Las Vegas and moved to Tampa to attend college. His family says he was set to graduate in February. 

“It’s been hard. That was my baby,” says Brenda Samuel, Benjamin's mother. 

According to Tampa Police, Benjamin as waiting at a bus stop when a man walked up and shot him in cold blood.

Benjamin was one of four people killed with no known reason in Tampa, Florida, over the span of a month. The killings sparked a city-wide manhunt by police.

RELATED: 3 Tampa shootings in 11 days related, police say

Benjamin's family says even though the alleged killer has been caught, they're still struggling to make sense of what happened.

"It’s a shame that he had to be taken out and his last breath was him laying on the side of a road," says Nakeyshia Brown, sister. "It’s heartbreaking, it really is.”

RELATED: Parents of alleged Florida serial killer obtain high-profile Tampa lawyer

The accused killer plead not guilty in a Tampa courtroom Tuesday. He's facing four counts of premeditated murder with a firearm.