Citibank Employees Flee for Their Lives as ɠυɳɱαɳ Opens Fire — Workers Hide in Closets While Hundreds of Deputies Storm Campus

Terrified Citibank employees abandoned their belongings and ran for their lives when a ɠυɳɱαɳ stormed the company’s sprawling Florida campus, triggering a massive police response and an evacuation involving thousands of workers.

The November 4 śh́óóting in Brandon, near Tampa, left one employee dead and the ɠυɳɱαɳ killed by an armed security officer. In the days that followed, employees began describing the terrifying moments when an ordinary workday suddenly turned into a fight to survive.

Approximately 3,200 employees were on the campus when the violence erupted.

Employees thought it was a fire drill

The chaos began shortly after noon when the ɠυɳɱαɳ drove his vehicle through a security fence and into an outdoor courtyard where employees were having lunch.

One Citibank employee working on the third floor initially thought the commotion was a fire drill. That changed when he heard screaming and people shouting that someone had a gun.

“All I hear is, ‘gun, gun, he’s got a gun, we have to move, we have to get out here!’” the employee recalled in an interview with FOX 13.

He and six colleagues eventually locked themselves inside a small room, waiting for the danger to pass.

The employee, who had a military background, said he tried to remain calm and help his coworkers make decisions while they were frightened and unsure what was happening.

He also feared that the thousands of people trying to escape could cause a dangerous stampede.

Other workers fled through emergency exits, ran toward nearby buildings or searched for locked rooms where they could hide.

Personal belongings abandoned in the panic

The scale of the evacuation became apparent when employees were eventually allowed to return to retrieve their belongings.

Bags, glasses, shoes and other personal items had been left scattered around the campus as workers rushed to safety.

Some employees had run out of their shoes, while others abandoned their phones and personal possessions.

Many had no idea whether their colleagues were safe until they were reunited with family members and coworkers.

The nearby Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel also became an unexpected refuge. Hotel management estimated that approximately 300 Citibank employees sought shelter there.

Staff provided water, food and places where workers could sit down, make phone calls and recover from the frightening experience.

One employee was killed

The victim was identified as Leanne Selman, 41, who had worked at Citibank for nine years as a learning adviser in the company’s security and investigative services division.

Authorities said she was eating lunch outside when the ɠυɳɱαɳ approached and shot her.

Investigators later established that Selman had no personal connection to the attacker.

The suspect was identified as Jacob Pearson, 35, from Orlando.

According to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Pearson had become angry over approximately $2,500 in credit card debt and a court summons connected to the unpaid balance.

Authorities said he had threatened to arrive at the bank carrying an AR-15 rifle and a bulletproof vest.

Pearson allegedly drove approximately 90 miles to the campus, crashed through the security gate and opened fire.

After his rifle malfunctioned, investigators said he retrieved a handgun before continuing the attack.

Security officer stopped the ɠυɳɱαɳ

The śh́óóting was brought to an end when Citibank security officer John Fraley, 38, confronted Pearson inside the cafeteria.

Fraley, who also served as a vice president and intelligence lead analyst at the company, exchanged gunfire with the attacker and shot him five times.

Pearson was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sheriff Chronister praised Fraley for confronting the ɠυɳɱαɳ and preventing the attack from continuing.

Authorities said approximately 90 rounds of ammunition had been brought to the campus.

More than 360 sheriff’s deputies responded to the emergency. Officers searched the buildings floor by floor, checking locked offices, closets and other locations where employees might have been hiding.

The full campus clearance took approximately two and a half hours.

Four additional people were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Officials later clarified that none of them had been shot. All four were treated and released.

Citibank gives employees time to recover

The company faced the difficult task of helping thousands of employees process what they had witnessed.

Citibank spokesperson Ed Skyler said the company was providing resources and support to workers while allowing them time and flexibility to recover.

He described Selman as a bright and beloved colleague whose loss had deeply affected the workplace.

CEO Jane Fraser also traveled to Tampa following the śh́óóting.

The company said it would not force employees to return to the campus before they were ready, recognizing the psychological impact of the attack.

For many workers, returning to the office means confronting memories of the moment they heard gunfire, watched colleagues flee or hid behind locked doors, hoping the attacker would never find them.

One ordinary Wednesday at work ended with a woman dead, a ɠυɳɱαɳ killed and thousands of employees facing a traumatic experience they will not soon forget.

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