The gunman who killed a Citibank employee in Tampa, Florida, was motivated by a $2,500 debt collection, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. The shooter, identified as 35-year-old Jacob Pearson, reportedly made threats against a Citibank attorney hours before the attack, demanding the cancellation of a court hearing related to his unpaid credit card debt.
"Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest and my insanity," Pearson allegedly told the attorney, Chronister said.
Pearson, who had no prior criminal history, drove from his home in Orlando to the Citibank campus in suburban Tampa. He crashed his car through a fence and into a courtyard where employees were eating lunch, the sheriff stated. Pearson then exited his vehicle with a rifle and fatally shot Leanne Selman, 41, a human resources employee who had worked at the company for nine years. Pearson's rifle jammed after three shots, at which point he retrieved a handgun from his car and continued firing at Selman.
Citibank parent Citigroup described Selman as a "beloved employee." The sheriff emphasized that Pearson had "zero connection" to Selman, indicating he was targeting any employee he encountered. "He was there intent on one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill them," Chronister said.
As employees fled the gunfire, Pearson entered the building and proceeded through a cafeteria. An armed executive who is part of Citibank's security team confronted and fatally shot Pearson. Authorities reported that Pearson brought 90 rounds of ammunition but only fired 15 times before being stopped. No other employees were physically harmed, though four individuals received treatment for minor injuries sustained while fleeing or for medical concerns such as chest pains.
Pearson's father told the Associated Press that he had no indication his son was capable of such violence.