Newly released body camera video shows deputies escorting people from a Citibank building after a fatal shooting at the Tampa-area campus. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
A Florida Marine veteran was hailed as a hero Thursday after fatally shooting a gunman who drove onto a Citibank campus near Tampa and began targeting employees over an overdue $2,500 credit card bill, officials said.
During a briefing on the deadly incident, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister identified the security officer as John Fraley. Fraley confronted 35-year-old Jacob Pearson inside the corporate complex shortly after Pearson shot and killed a Citibank employee.
Chronister said Fraley was authorized to carry a firearm because of his military background and training.
“He is an individual that’s afforded an opportunity to carry a firearm because the ones who were either previous law enforcement or military and have that training. Citibank empowers them to carry a handgun,” Chronister said.
“He didn’t have to stop. He could have run and protected his own life, too. He took up a tactical position when he saw the suspect coming and made a decision.”
Newly released body camera footage shows Hillsborough County deputies responding Wednesday to a fatal shooting at a Citibank campus in Brandon, Florida. (The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
“That decision put his own life at risk to stop that shooter from harming anyone else,” he added.
Pearson was married and had a 7-year-old child, the sheriff said.
The violence began after Pearson received a court summons linked to a $2,500 delinquent debt owed to Citibank, according to the sheriff. Angered by the notice, Pearson called an attorney’s office hired by the bank to handle collections at about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
He allegedly threatened the law office over the phone before leaving his home in Orlando.
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“Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest and my insanity, you m———— cancel this court case,” he allegedly said, Fox 13 reported.
“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.”
Authorities gather at a Tampa-area business park after an active shooter was reported Wednesday. One suspect and one victim died. (Fox News)
Citibank’s security chief, a retired Secret Service agent, recognized the seriousness of the threat and began taking precautionary measures. He contacted the Orlando Police Department to request a welfare check and asked the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to send deputies to the campus.
Despite the warnings, Pearson drove to the Brandon campus and smashed through a gate into a courtyard where employees were gathered.
After getting out of his sedan with a rifle, he shot 41-year-old learning adviser LeAnne Selmon three times, Chronister said. The rifle then malfunctioned.
“As he shoots her, his rifle begins to malfunction,” he said. “This suspect goes back … 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.”
“He was there intent on one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill,” the sheriff said. “Because of the heroic actions of this Citibank security officer, vice president of operations, his reign of terror ended before it even began.”
Pearson then entered a cafeteria, apparently looking for additional victims, before encountering Fraley, the sheriff said. The Citibank security guard took cover in a men’s restroom and fired, hitting Pearson five times, according to Chronister.
Pearson was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
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