Surveillance Camera Captures Murder Suspect

Tampa Police are searching for a man shown in video surveillance footage shooting a driver Sunday night at the 3700 block of North Florida Avenue.

The victim, Michael Smith Ayuso, 39, of 5654 Louis XIV Court, died at the scene.

Based on the video footage from a nearby business, the shooter is a black male with possible facial hair, wearing a dark T-shirt, dark denim shorts, black sneakers, sunglasses and a dark baseball cap. At about 6:30 p.m., he got out of the passenger side of a white, four-door Honda Accord with dark tinted windows. The rear brake lights were customized white, instead of red.

Police say the suspect’s vehicle pulled into the parking lot of a business at the intersection of Florida and Kentucky avenues. When Ayuso’s vehicle arrived in the area, the suspect got out of the Accord, walked over and spoke to the victim before shooting him several times in the upper torso, including at least one shot to the head.

Detectives believe the suspect “targeted” the victim specifically, Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Anyone with information about the suspect, the vehicle or the crime is asked to call police at 813-231-6135.