Guard hailed as hero after gunman kills Citibank employee near Tampa

A gunman angered over a roughly $2,500 debt crashed his car through a security gate at a Citibank office campus near Tampa on Wednesday and opened fire on employees eating lunch, killing one woman before an armed security guard confronted and fatally shot him inside a cafeteria, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The attack unfolded at Sabal Center, a four-building Citibank campus in suburban Hillsborough County that houses more than 3,200 employees. Sheriff's deputies, who had just been alerted to a credible threat against the campus, were arriving as the shooting began.

The sheriff's office identified the gunman as Jacob Pearson, 35, of Orlando, and the woman he killed as Leanne Selman, 41, of Palm Harbor, a nine-year Citibank employee who worked as a learning advisor for the company's security division. Four other people were treated at hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released. The security guard who killed Pearson, identified by the sheriff's office as John Fraley, 38, a Marine Corps veteran and a vice president on Citi's security team, was not hurt.

A threat phoned in hours earlier

According to the sheriff's office, Pearson's rampage followed a morning of escalating threats. Citibank had sued him in small-claims court over an unpaid credit-card balance — court records cited by ABC News put the debt at $2,556.40, with a hearing scheduled for mid-February. Florida's small-claims courts, including the Orange County Clerk of Courts, handle civil disputes of $8,000 or less, a routine venue for consumer-debt collection suits.

That morning, Pearson called a collections law firm working for Citibank and threatened violence over the summons, telling the firm he would come "with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest, and my insanity," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. The firm alerted Citibank's security office, which asked Orlando police to check on Pearson. Officers found he had already left home. Orlando police then warned nearby agencies, and Citibank separately notified the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office of a credible threat to its Tampa-area campus shortly before noon. Deputies were dispatched immediately, but Pearson, who had driven roughly 90 miles from Orlando, reached the campus first.

Gunfire in a lunchtime courtyard

At 12:10 p.m., Pearson drove through the campus's security gate and into a courtyard where employees were eating lunch, the sheriff's office said. A minute later he opened fire with a rifle, shooting Selman three times. When the rifle jammed after a few rounds, he returned to his car for a handgun and continued firing; he was later found to be carrying about 90 rounds of ammunition and had fired roughly 15 shots.

Pearson then entered the building's cafeteria, where Fraley, who had taken cover, confronted him and exchanged gunfire, shooting him five times. Deputies reached the cafeteria at 12:16 p.m. and began emergency aid until Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived. Pearson was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:12 p.m.

David Dzien, a Citibank vice president who was on campus, described the attack to the Associated Press as an "incredible clatter" of gunfire. "I can still hear the particular type of scream," he said, "and I'm still trying to process it, frankly." Roughly 300 employees were sheltered at a nearby Sheraton hotel as the building was cleared; its general manager, Matt Chauvin, said staff initially locked the doors as employees kept arriving seeking safety.

"John Fraley confronted this suspect and is a hero, plain and simple," Sheriff Chronister said. "With more than 3,200 people on that campus, there is no doubt that these quick and courageous actions saved lives."

Chronister said investigators found "zero connection" between Selman and Pearson; she appears to have simply been the first employee he encountered. Citigroup spokesman Ed Skyler called her "a beloved employee," and the company said Tampa-area staff could work remotely while the campus remains closed. Pearson's father, Richard, told reporters he had never seen any sign his son was capable of violence. Chief Deputy Frank Losat, briefing reporters Wednesday night, said deputies could not immediately rule out further danger: "Was there a potential for further violence? Absolutely. So kudos to that security guard."

A persistent hazard in American workplaces

The shooting adds to a pattern federal data has tracked for years. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration notes that acts of violence are the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United States. Citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics' most recent Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, OSHA reports that of 5,283 fatal workplace injuries recorded in 2023, 740 resulted from violent acts and 458 of those were homicides — nearly 9 percent of all work-related deaths that year. OSHA's guidance notes there is currently no federal standard specifically regulating workplace violence, leaving employers to adopt their own prevention programs and armed or unarmed security staffing, as Citibank had at Sabal Center.

What happens next

Because Pearson died at the scene, there will be no criminal prosecution; the sheriff's office said its investigation remains open to determine whether anyone else had advance knowledge of his plans or whether the warnings relayed between the collections firm, Citibank and police that morning could have stopped him sooner. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office officials said all further updates would come through its public affairs office. Selman's family has been notified, and funeral arrangements had not been made public as of Thursday evening. Citibank has not said when employees will be able to return to the Sabal Center campus in person.