Former St. John's University student Howell Donaldson arrested in Seminole Heights serial killing

A suspected serial killer who terrorized Tampa for nearly two months attended St. John’s University.

Howell (Trai) Donaldson III, 24, is accused of shooting four people to death between Oct. 9 and Nov. 14 in the city’s Seminole Heights neighborhood.

He was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at the McDonald’s where he worked as an crew leader near the neighborhood he allegedly victimized, according to police.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that Donaldson handed a manager a bag while he got a payday loan. The manager alerted an officer doing paperwork inside the fast food joint that there was a handgun inside.

The officer looked at the Smith and Wesson .40 inside and called for backup just before 3 p.m.

Donaldson was charged with four counts of premeditated murder and booked into the Hillsborough County jail at around 3 a.m. Tuesday.

Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan expressed gratitude to the the fast food tipster.

“We got a break. Somebody stepped up and did the right thing,” the chief said.

See more: Fourth victim linked to suspected serial killer in Florida

Donaldson played basketball for St. John’s sometime after graduating high school in Tampa in 2011, according to his social media accounts.

He studied sports management and in 2016 he allegedly worked as a “guest experience host” for the Mets, according to his LinkedIn page.

He was arrested at least once during his NYC stint but the details of the 2014 case in Manhattan was sealed, a police source said.

Donaldson’s profile on a website for the St. John’s Red Storm men’s team was removed shortly after midnight.

Inquiries with the university and baseball team were not immediately returned.

Efforts to reach Donaldson’s relatives were unsuccessful.

Dugan was “optimistic” they’d found the monster responsible for the four seemingly random deaths.

Police suspect Anthony Naiboa, Monica Caridad Hoffa and Benjamin Mitchell were also shot by the same gunman.

“There’s a lot to go through, a lot to sift through and it’s going to take many things to fall in line,” Dugan said.

The police department received more than 5,000 tips during the investigation, Dugan said.

Tampa police released chilling surveillance footage on Nov. 15 showing the suspect walking just before 60-year-old Ronald Felton was killed.

Benjamin Mitchell, 22, was the first victim that kicked off the two months of terror.

Monica Hoffa, 32 was killed on Oct. 11 and Anthony Naiboa, 20 was shot to death on Oct. 19 after taking the wrong bus home.