Security guard stops gunman who killed Citibank worker over $2,500 debt

Jacob Pearson, a 35-year-old Orlando resident, killed Citibank employee LeAnne Selman and injured himself before an armed security guard stopped him at the company's corporate campus on Wednesday morning. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister detailed the sequence of events during an official briefing, describing a violent confrontation that unfolded in the facility's courtyard and cafeteria.

Pearson drove to the site after phoning a law firm that handles debt collection for Citibank. The firm was managing a case involving a $2,500 delinquent payment. During the call, Pearson issued explicit threats, telling the attorney, "Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest and my insanity, you mf’ing cancel this court case." He added that the firm was only an hour and three minutes away, warning them not to mess with him.

Following the call, Citibank security, led by a retired Secret Service agent, initiated emergency protocols. They requested a welfare check from Orlando police, who found Pearson's home empty. His wife told officers he had left looking angry without stating his destination. Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to protect the campus, where approximately 3,200 employees were present.

Shortly after noon, Pearson crashed his vehicle through a security gate in the courtyard. He immediately shot Selman, 41, three times. When her firearm malfunctioned as she tried to crawl away, Pearson retrieved a second handgun from his car and shot her again, according to the sheriff. He then moved into the cafeteria, causing thousands of employees to run for exits or hide.

John Fraley, a Citibank security guard and Marine Corps veteran, tracked Pearson into a men's restroom. Fraley took a tactical position and opened fire, wounding Pearson five times. Emergency doctors at Tampa General Hospital later confirmed Pearson's death. Chronister praised Fraley for ending the threat before it could spread further, noting the gunman's intent to find and kill as many people as possible.

Selman worked as a human resources learning advisor for Citi Security Investigative Services in Palm Harbor. She had served the company for nine years. Four other individuals were treated and released after injuries sustained during the evacuation. One suffered a cut lip, another had cuts and bruises from a fall, a third experienced chest pains, and a pregnant worker was sent to the hospital as a precaution. Pearson left behind a wife and a 7-year-old child in Orlando.

Investigators have not determined why Pearson targeted Selman specifically or how he obtained the firearms, given he had no prior criminal record. The shooting ended with the death of the gunman and the victim, with no other fatalities reported at the scene.