A gunman killed a woman at a Citibank business campus in suburban Tampa on Wednesday before a security guard fatally shot him. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported that the suspect drove a sedan through a fence and into a courtyard where employees were eating lunch before opening fire with a rifle.
The incident occurred at a sprawling complex in Brandon, Florida, which consists of four three-story office buildings. Chief Deputy Frank Losat stated that approximately 3,200 employees were on the campus at the time of the attack. Sheriff Chad Chronister characterized the shooting as a targeted incident.
According to authorities, the gunman confronted the woman in the courtyard and fatally shot her. He then entered a cafeteria, where he engaged in a gunfire exchange with an armed security guard. The guard killed the suspect during the confrontation. Four additional people were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though officials did not specify if their injuries were from gunfire or the vehicle crash.
For the employees at the complex, the event resulted in an immediate disruption of work and a 150-minute lockdown as officers searched closets and locked rooms for survivors. Residents and businesses in the immediate vicinity were also affected; the nearby Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel served as an emergency shelter for approximately 300 fleeing workers, providing food, water, and space for them to contact relatives. The presence of "VIPs" on campus for a quarterly review suggests the event occurred during a period of heightened administrative activity for the banking firm.
The incident sets a precedent regarding the role of private security in active threat scenarios on corporate campuses, as Chief Deputy Losat specifically credited the guard's intervention with preventing further violence. Citigroup has confirmed it is cooperating with the ongoing law enforcement investigation. As of Wednesday evening, the names of the deceased had not been released, and a specific motive for the targeted attack remained unknown. Investigators will continue to process the scene at the Brandon campus to determine the relationship between the shooter and the victim.