On the morning of Wednesday 4 November 2026, a man who had threatened Citibank over a debt of about $2,500 drove to the company's campus in Tampa, Florida, crashed his vehicle into a gate, and opened fire. One employee was killed. Within a minute, an armed Citibank security guard confronted the gunman in the cafeteria and shot him, and the gunman later died in hospital. More than 3,200 people were on the campus.

Tampa Citibank shooting: what the sheriff has confirmed

The shooting took place at Sabal Center, at 3800 Citibank Center in Tampa. In its first release, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said that 911 calls reporting shots fired came in at 12:11 p.m., that the first marked unit arrived within one minute, and that deputies entered the building. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and the suspect was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:12 p.m.

The sheriff's office gave a fuller timeline the next day. Jacob Pearson, 35, had made threats against Citibank that morning after being contacted about a court summons over a debt of approximately $2,500, and had said he would bring a rifle and a bulletproof vest to the Citibank offices. Shortly before noon, Citibank told the sheriff's office about a credible threat to its Tampa campus, and deputies were sent to the site. At 12:10 p.m., Pearson crashed his vehicle into the campus gate. At 12:11 p.m., he opened fire, killing an employee.

The victim was Leanne Selman, 41, who had worked at Citibank for nine years as a learning adviser for Citi Security and Investigative Services. Four other people went to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, and all four have since been released. The sheriff's office said the investigation remains active.

How the warning reached the campus before the shooting

The warning did not begin at the gate. According to the sheriff's update, Pearson made the threats in the morning, and law enforcement agencies in Orange County worked to locate him. Officers from the Orlando Police Department saw him leave a complex in a vehicle and issued an alert to agencies in the area. Citibank then told the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office about the credible threat, and deputies were already on their way when the attack began.

What stopped the attack in under a minute

Deputies arrived on the campus as the shooting began and moved towards the gunfire. Within one minute, Citibank armed security guard John Fraley, 38, confronted Pearson in the building's cafeteria and shot him. Fraley is the vice president and intelligence lead analyst at Citibank. At 12:16 p.m., deputies reached the cafeteria and began giving aid until Hillsborough County Fire Rescue arrived.

Sheriff Chad Chronister called Fraley a hero. "John Fraley confronted this suspect and is a hero, plain and simple. In a moment when most people would run away from danger, this guard ran toward it and stopped the threat within minutes of the first shots being fired," he said. "With more than 3,200 people on that campus, there is no doubt that these quick and courageous actions saved lives." The sheriff's office said 367 deputies responded, that more than 400 law enforcement personnel were on the scene, and that the buildings were cleared within two hours. The guard was armed and trained, and deputies were minutes behind him, which is not the position of an unarmed member of staff.

Run, Hide, Fight: the guidance that applies in a workplace

The FBI's Active Shooter Attack Prevention and Preparedness course describes "Run, Hide, Fight" as the national standard for how a civilian should respond to an active shooter. It is a simple order of preference: run if you can, hide if you cannot run, and fight only as a last resort. Our safety guide after the Deep Ellum shootings and our report on the active threat alert at Miami University use the same approach, because the first minutes decide who gets out.

  • Run. Know the alternate exits wherever you go, and leave quickly and calmly away from the attacker. Do not stop for belongings, and keep your hands empty and visible.
  • Hide. If there is no safe escape route, find a good hiding place, lock and barricade the door, and silence your phone. Stay quiet until the police tell you it is safe to move.
  • Fight. Fight only as a last resort, when your life is in immediate danger and you cannot run or hide. Use whatever objects are available as improvised weapons.

What workplaces can put in place before a threat arrives

The Tampa case shows four things that helped, and each was in place before the morning of 4 November. A threat was reported at once, rather than being treated as an empty remark. The report was passed to the police, and the police passed it on. Deputies were sent to the campus before the attack, not after it. And the campus had an armed security team that knew the building and could act in the first minute.

Make sure every member of staff knows how to report a threat, and to whom, and that reports are passed on the same day. Keep a list of alternate exits and safe rooms, and walk them, so people do not have to find them for the first time under pressure. Practise a lockdown as well as an evacuation, because hiding is the right answer when the exits are not safe. Our home invasion safety guide makes a similar point: the plan you make on a calm day is the plan you will actually follow. The Aurora house of worship case, in which police stopped a planned mass shooting, shows the other side: a threat reported early gives the police something to work with.

What our records show, and what they miss

Our records are built from official sources, and this article is built the same way: from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office releases of 4 and 5 November, and from the FBI's published guidance. Those sources confirm the time, the place, the number of people on the campus, the timeline of the response, and the number of people who were hurt. They do not confirm a motive, and they do not say why this employee was the person who was killed. We do not fill those gaps with guesses. You can read how we track incidents, and what we cannot see for the limits that apply to every record we publish.

The Oregon elementary school shooting shows the setting changes everything, and a single case does not prove that the same response would work in a different building. What the Tampa case does prove is narrower, and more useful: a warning that is passed on, a response that is already moving, and a guard who acts in the first minute can keep a terrible morning from becoming a far worse one.

The short version

  • On 4 November 2026, a gunman killed Citibank employee Leanne Selman, 41, at the company's Tampa campus, and was shot dead minutes later by an armed security guard.
  • The sheriff's office said the gunman had threatened Citibank that morning over a debt of about $2,500, and that deputies were already on their way when he crashed through the gate at 12:10 p.m.
  • More than 3,200 people were on the campus, and four other people were taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
  • The FBI's guidance is Run, Hide, Fight: run if you can, hide if you cannot, and fight only as a last resort.
  • Workplaces should report threats at once, pass them to the police, and practise both evacuation and lockdown before they are needed.