Authorities said the Florida Citibank gunman became furious over a legal dispute involving the company before entering its building and fatally shooting a female employee at close range.
Jacob Pearson, 35, crashed a gray sedan before rushing onto the Citibank campus around noon Wednesday and shooting LeAnne Selman, 41, four times as she tried to survive, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Thursday.
At about 9 a.m., Pearson, a married father of one, had contacted a law office affiliated with the company after being ordered to appear in court over a collection debt of roughly $2,500.
Pearson was described as “upset and irate.” In a letter to the company, he wrote: “Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest, and my insanity, you motherf***ing 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.”
The law office alerted a Citibank security supervisor, a retired Secret Service agent, and warned him about Pearson’s threat.
The supervisor then contacted the Orlando Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Orlando officers conducted a welfare check at Pearson’s home, but he was not there.
The situation turned deadly when Pearson crashed into the building, approached with a rifle and shot Selman, whom Chronister said was “the first person he saw.”
Jacob Pearson, 35, entered the Citibank corporate building in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday after becoming enraged over a legal dispute involving the company
He fatally shot Citibank employee LeAnne Selman, 41, who had worked in the company’s human resources department for nine years, officials said
Chronister said Pearson and Selman had no previous connection, describing her death as the result of being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Security footage showed Pearson walking “calmly” into the building before he was shot and killed by Citibank vice president of operations John Fraley, a Marine Corps veteran.
Pearson arrived at the headquarters with 90 rounds of ammunition, 15 of which were fired, Chronister said.
“Because of the heroic actions of this Citibank security officer, vice president of operations, his reign of terror ended before it even began,” Chronister said.
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Pearson fired three rifle rounds at Selman before the weapon malfunctioned. He returned to his car, retrieved a handgun and shot her again while she was crawling on the ground.
Officials said Selman had been employed by the company for nine years and worked in human resources.
Terrified Citibank employees were evacuated from the building during the shooting
Pearson, a married father of one, contacted an affiliated law office at about 9 a.m. after being summoned to court over a collection debt of roughly $2,500
The four other people injured in the shooting were in stable condition and have since been released from the hospital.
According to a complaint reviewed by Our News Outlet, Pearson owed the company $2,556.80 for a purchase made with his My Best Buy Visa Platinum card.
Chronister also released images showing the aftermath, including women’s shoes, food, water bottles and other belongings abandoned as employees fled.
During the pre-shooting welfare check at Pearson’s Orlando home, his wife, Stephanie Pearson, told officers that he had left and “appeared to be angry,” the sheriff said.
Following the update on the fatal shooting, Ed Skyler, Citigroup’s head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs, addressed the loss suffered by the company.
Women’s heels were among the belongings left behind after the chaotic, deadly incident
“Our hearts are heavy, but they are also full of gratitude. We are grateful for the actions of our security team, heroic actions, that prevented this tragedy from becoming even worse,” Skyler said.
He described Selman as a “valued” and “beloved” employee who was “a bright light.”
Skyler said Citibank is providing counseling resources and will not immediately require employees to return to the office.
