A gunman drove a car into a courtyard on Citibank's Tampa business campus Wednesday and fatally shot a woman with a rifle, authorities said. A Citibank security guard then shot and killed him. Four other people were treated for injuries not considered life-threatening.
A gunman drove a car into a courtyard on Citibank's Tampa business campus on Wednesday and opened fire with a rifle, killing a woman, before a security guard fatally shot him, authorities said. The gunman drove over several medians and a grassy area, crashed through a fence and stopped in a courtyard where people were having lunch. After getting out, he used a rifle to fatally shoot a woman.
According to Chief Deputy Frank Losat, a security guard confronted the gunman in a cafeteria after he shot the woman, and the two exchanged fire, with the guard killing him. The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he died. He was later pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital.
Citibank vice president David Dzien said he saw the shooter's sedan crash through a fence about 150 yards away, followed by an incredible clatter that he later realized was gunfire. Dzien said the attack occurred on a day when VIPs who don't normally work at the complex were present for a quarterly review.
The first 911 calls about shots fired came in at 12:11 p.m., and deputies responded within one minute, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. More than 360 deputies responded. Deputies spent 2 1/2 hours searching and clearing the building where the shootings occurred plus adjacent office buildings.
Chief Deputy Losat said 3,200 people were on the campus at work during the attack. The Citibank campus in suburban Tampa includes four three-story office buildings housing thousands of employees. The Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, a few hundred feet from the campus, sheltered about 300 Citibank workers, according to general manager Matt Chauvin's estimate.
Four other people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Losat did not know whether any had been shot or struck by the gunman's vehicle. Investigators had not determined as of Wednesday afternoon whether they were injured by gunfire, the vehicle, or otherwise.
The names of the gunman and the woman killed were not immediately released. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office did not give a motive or say whether the gunman and the woman knew each other. Citigroup said in a statement that it was aware of an incident at the complex and was cooperating with authorities.
