Tampa Citibank shooting: gunman kills one, injures four before being shot dead by security guard
A gunman rammed his car into a Citibank campus near Tampa, shot dead a woman and wounded four others before being killed by an armed security guard.
Armed attacker storms Tampa Citibank campus, killing one woman before being shot dead
A shirtless gunman drove his car through a fenced security perimeter at a Citibank corporate campus near Tampa, Florida, shot a woman dead and wounded four others before being killed by an armed security guard, nypost.com reports.
Footage shared online shows the bald, heavyset attacker emerging from the wreckage of his vehicle shortly after noon, carrying an AR-15-style rifle. He wore a jacket with no shirt underneath, jeans and boots.
According to police, the suspect drove from Orlando to the large Citibank campus and ploughed through a series of grassy medians before breaching a secured, fenced section of the site. His vehicle came to rest in an outdoor seating area where employees were eating lunch.
"Upon the car coming to rest, the suspect exits the vehicle with a rifle, approaches the female, and she is shot," Chief Deputy Frank Losatt said at a press conference.
The gunman then moved into the campus cafeteria, where an armed Citibank security guard intercepted and shot him. "The suspect was shot, transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he is deceased," Losatt confirmed.
The female victim, who worked for a vendor operating on the Citibank site, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at a local hospital.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said investigators believe the shooting was a targeted attack and that the gunman intended to kill as many people as possible. More than 3,200 people were on the campus at the time.
"This was a tragic situation where a victim was killed by an individual who was intent on killing as many people as possible," Chronister said in a statement.
Earlier reporting identified the suspect as Jacob Pearson, 35, who had allegedly received a court summons over a debt of approximately £1,850 and driven to the site in response.
Over 400 law enforcement officers responded to the scene. Bodycam footage released by the sheriff's office shows deputies moving quickly through the campus to the cafeteria where the gunman had fallen, as well as officers escorting dozens of employees to safety.
"Thanks to the brave actions by the security team on-site and more than 365 deputies, this unhinged suspect was stopped before he could harm anyone else," Chronister said.
Source: The Sun