Florida police said the Citibank shooter was furious over a legal dispute with the company when he stormed into its building and shot a female employee at close range.
Jacob Pearson, 35, crashed a gray sedan before entering the Citibank campus around noon Wednesday and shooting LeAnne Selman, 41, four times as she struggled to survive, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Thursday.
Earlier, at about 9 a.m., Pearson — a married father of one — contacted a law office affiliated with the company after being ordered to appear in court over a $2,500 collection debt.
Pearson was described as “upset and irate.” He wrote to the company: “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 the threat.
The supervisor then contacted the Orlando Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Local officers carried out a wellness 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, described by Chronister as “the first person he saw.”
Jacob Pearson, 35, stormed into the Citibank corporate building in Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday after becoming enraged over a legal dispute with 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
Pearson and Selman had no known connection. Chronister said her death was 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.
Pearson shot Selman three times with his rifle before the weapon malfunctioned. He returned to his car, retrieved a handgun and shot her again as she crawled across the floor.
Officials said Selman had worked for Citibank in human resources for nine years.
The four other people wounded in the shooting were in stable condition and have since been released from the hospital.
According to a complaint reviewed by the Daily Mail, Pearson owed $2,556.80 on a purchase made with his My Best Buy Visa Platinum card.
Terrified Citibank employees were evacuated from the building during the shooting
Pearson, a married father of one, contacted an affiliated law office around 9 a.m. after being summoned to court over a collection debt of about $2,500
Women’s heels were left behind after the chaotic and deadly incident
Chronister also released images from the aftermath, showing women’s shoes, lunches, water bottles and other personal belongings abandoned as employees fled for safety.
This is breaking news — updates to follow.