A gunman drove a car onto Citibank's business complex near Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday and opened fire, leaving two people dead, including the suspect, Florida authorities said.1,2,3,4,5,6
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister posted on X, "We believe this is a targeted incident." The sheriff's office said a suspect and one other person were dead. The person fatally shot was described as a woman, and The New York Post reported, citing law enforcement sources, that authorities believed the woman worked for a vendor at the site.1,5,6
Chief Deputy Frank Losatt said the suspect entered the property in a gray car, drove over several medians through a grassy area and then through a secure fenced-in area before crashing into an outdoor seating area where people were eating lunch. "Upon the car coming to rest, the suspect exits the vehicle with a rifle, approaches the female, and she is shot," Losatt said. The man was described as wearing a dark jacket with no shirt underneath and carrying what appeared to be an AR-style assault rifle.6
Losatt said the gunman was confronted by an armed Citibank security guard and was shot. "The suspect was shot, transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he is deceased," Losatt said. The Washington Times headline also said the gunman was shot by a security guard. Chronister said, "We believe this is a targeted incident,"1,2,6
The sheriff's office said it was not immediately known whether anyone else was injured. The New York Post said four additional victims were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.1,6
More than 360 deputies went to the campus, the sheriff's office said; The New York Post put the figure at 367 deputies working with specialized units to secure the area. The sheriff's office said in a social media post that it had "responded to an active threat and is currently clearing the building." Officers conducted a floor-by-floor search and room-to-room sweeps, finding people sheltering in locked rooms and closets and escorting them from the buildings and a parking garage. TV video showed long lines of workers streaming from the buildings.1,6
Workers were directed to a reunification site in a nearby parking lot, including the parking lot of a nearby hotel. Students and employees at nearby Hillsborough College were warned to shelter in place. The sheriff's office said, "Please avoid the area of Queens Palm Drive and Falkenburg Road until further notice. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as crews work in the area,"6
Doug Merritt said his son called him from the campus after hearing gunshots and fleeing. "He was very close to it," Merritt told The Associated Press. "He left all this stuff where he was at and he was able to get out of there." Merritt said that for about an hour he did not know whether his son was safe because of a bad internet connection. "I wanted him to get to safety," he said. "I was upset."1
The complex, also identified as the Sabal Center, includes four three-story office buildings that house thousands of employees. Citi employs more than 10,000 people in the Tampa region, which includes the 670,000-square-foot corporate park where the shooting happened, with departments including global banking, technology, legal, compliance, risk management and human resources operating in Tampa.1,6
A spokesperson for Citi said the company was "aware of an incident impacting our site in Tampa, Florida and are coordinating with law enforcement." Aerial footage showed officers moving through the corporate park on Wednesday afternoon.6
