Suspect in deadly Citibank shooting was 'irate' over court summons for $2,500 debt: Sheriff
One person was killed in Wednesday's shooting at Citibank's Tampa-area campus.
The suspect in a deadly shooting at a Citibank business complex in Florida was "irate" after receiving a court summons over some $2,500 in credit card debt that he owed the financial institution, according to authorities.
Hours after allegedly threatening violence against the company, authorities say he crashed his vehicle into the courtyard of the Tampa-area Citibank office complex and opened fire, fatally shooting the first person he saw and sparking panic on the large campus.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said there likely would have been more casualties if not for the heroic actions of a Citibank security guard, who shot and killed the gunman after he entered a cafeteria armed with a rifle.
"Phenomenal job by everyone collaboratively coming together to make sure that this tragic incident wasn't catastrophic," Chronister said during a press briefing on Thursday. "Our suspect took one life, and that's one life too many."
Chronister identified the suspect in Wednesday's shooting as 35-year-old Jacob Pearson, a married father of one with no criminal record, who lived in Orlando.
"This was targeted; he targeted Citibank employees yesterday, holding them responsible for his debt," Chronister said.
Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Pearson contacted an attorney's office contracted by Citibank for collection, "upset" and "irate" that he recently received a summons to go to court over a delinquent payment, according to Chronister.
According to the sheriff, Pearson allegedly told the attorney's office, "Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest, and my insanity ... cancel this court case. Do you understand me? They are only an hour and three minutes away, so the last thing you want to do is f with me."
Court records show that Pearson owed $2,556.40 on a credit card issued by Citibank and had recently been summoned to appear for a pre-trial conference in the small claims case in February.
The attorney's office contacted Citibank's head of security, who then contacted the Orlando Police Department to request a welfare check on Pearson, according to Chronister.
Pearson had already left by the time officers arrived at this Orlando residence, according to the sheriff. His wife told police she did not know where he went but that he "appeared to be angry," Chronister said.
Orlando police updated the head of security at Citibank, who contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to report the threat, saying, "We don't know where he's at. We don't know if he intends on following up on that threat," according to Chronister.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office dispatched two law enforcement officers to the Citibank campus, and while coordinating with the Citibank security team on where to go, gunshots were fired in the courtyard shortly after noon, according to Chronister.
The suspect had crashed his vehicle through a gate in the courtyard, exited it carrying a rifle and walked toward the first Citibank employee that he saw and shot her three times, according to the sheriff.
"As he shoots her, his rifle begins to malfunction," Chronister said. "This suspect returns back to his car, retrieves his handgun, walks back over to the victim, who's trying to crawl away with her life, and executes her."
The suspect then entered a cafeteria, where he encountered a security guard who had taken a "tactical position" in the men's restroom after hearing gunshots, according to the sheriff. The two engaged in a gunfight and the security guard struck the suspect five times, Chronister said.
The suspect was transported to an area hospital, where he died, officials said.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Chronister identified her as 41-year-old Leanne Selman, of Palm Harbor. She had worked at Citibank for nine years and was in human resources, the company said.
Chronister identified the "hero" security guard as John Fraley, a Marine Corps veteran who is the vice president of operations on Citibank's security team.
The sheriff said the suspect was armed with 90 rounds of ammunition and was "intent on one person, one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill."
"Because of the heroic actions of this Citibank security officer, vice president of operations, his reign of terror ended," Chronister said.
A Citigroup spokesperson also commended the security team.
"Our hearts are heavy, but they are also full of gratitude," Ed Skyler, the head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs at Citigroup, said during Thursday's briefing. "We are grateful to the actions of our security team, their heroic actions to prevent this tragedy from becoming even worse."
Skyler said that threats "come in frequently" and are "all assessed."
"This threat was taken incredibly seriously," he said. "Our security team was aware of it, was changing their security posture as the event was starting."
He continued, "We have highly trained, disciplined people on site that thankfully were able to handle the situation, prevent what was a tragedy from becoming something much, much worse."
Skyler said the company is in touch with the victim's family, whom he described as a "bright light" and "beloved" employee, as well as the 9,500 Tampa colleagues, many of whom were on site Wednesday.
"Many witnessed the event, and all were evacuated," he said. "We are making sure we offer whatever resources we can to support them."
The shooting sparked panic as employees fled the scene and four people went to the hospital. During the chaos, two people suffered minor injuries and a third had chest pains, according to Chronister. Police also urged a pregnant woman to go to the hospital "out of an abundance of caution," he said. All have since been released, he said.
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