Suspected serial killer arrested in McDonald’s over Florida murders

Howell Donaldson III has been charged with gunning down four people in Tampa

Donaldson, 24, has been arrested in connection with a string of murders in Tampa's Seminole Heights neighbourhood (Tampa Police)

A suspected serial killer was arrested in Florida after one of his McDonalds co-workers found a loaded gun in one of his food bags.

Howell Donaldson III, 24,will be charged with four counts of first degree murder in relation to fatal shootings in the Seminole Heights region of Tampa, said the city's Police chief Brian Dugan.

The killings sparked fear in the area and police had instructed residents not to walk in the area alone at night.

Mr Donaldson III's arrest affadavit said one of his co-workers at the fast food restaurant had called them after he handed them a food bag with a loaded .40 caliber Glock firearm inside. He told his colleague he wanted to leave the state.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ATF analyzed the fired cartridge casings in all four murder scenes, and identified the casings were fired from the same firearm: a Glock .40 caliber handgun, the affidavit added.

The killings began on 9 October, when 22-year-old Benjamin Mitchell was shot dead while waiting at a bus stop.

Monica Hoffa, 32, was killed two days later, though her body was not discovered until 13 October, in a car park near the site of the first killing.

Anthony Naiboa, 20, who was autistic, was killed in the same area on 19 October after taking the wrong bus home from his new job.

All three were killed while getting on or off a city bus, or while at a bus stop, police said.

Nearly a month later 60-year-old Ronald Felton was killed on 14 November as he walked to volunteer at a food bank in the area.

Mr Dugan said the department had received more than 5,000 tip-offs, and thanked those who called in the information that led to Donaldson's arrest.

Additional reporting by AP