Armed Security Guard Kills Gunman Who Shot Woman Dead at Citibank Office Park Near Brandon, Hillsborough Sheriff Says

An armed Citibank security guard shot and killed a gunman who had crashed a car into a lunchtime crowd at the bank's office campus near Brandon on Wednesday and fatally shot a woman, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. Four other people were treated for injuries that were not life threatening, and about 3,200 employees were evacuated from the complex as more than 400 law enforcement units converged on the scene.

Neither the woman nor the gunman had been publicly identified by the sheriff's office as of Thursday, and investigators had not released a motive. Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement that the gunman "was intent on killing as many people as possible."

What happened at the Citibank Center

The shooting happened shortly after noon on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Citibank Center office park off Falkenburg Road, near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Interstate 75, just west of Brandon in unincorporated Hillsborough County. The sheriff's office and body camera references also call the property the Sabal Center, according to WUSF.

The first 911 calls reporting gunfire came in at about 12:11 p.m., the sheriff's office said. According to the agency's account, the driver of a small four-door sedan went over several medians and grass inside the office park, broke through a secure fence line and crashed into an outdoor seating area where employees were eating lunch.

The man then got out of the wrecked car carrying a rifle, walked up to a woman who was eating outside and shot her, investigators said. She died. Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser told CNN the woman was a Citi employee, and in an internal memo reported by FOX 13 she wrote that a colleague "has lost their life."

Several minutes later, the gunman moved inside toward the building's cafeteria, where an armed security officer employed by Citibank confronted him, the sheriff's office said. The two exchanged gunfire, and the gunman was wounded. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Officials have not said how the four injured people were hurt. Chief Deputy Frank Losat told reporters he did not know whether they had been shot or struck by the car, according to the Associated Press.

A guard credited with stopping the attack

Sheriff's officials praised the security guard, who has not been named, for confronting the gunman before deputies reached him. Losat, who briefed reporters at the scene, said the gunman could have kept going.

"Was there a potential for further violence? Absolutely," Losat said, according to the AP. "So kudos to that security guard."

Chronister said in his statement that the gunman, whom he described as "unhinged," was stopped before he could hurt anyone else. In a separate remark reported by the AP, the sheriff said, "We believe this is a targeted incident." The sheriff's office has not said whether the gunman and the woman who died knew each other.

Fraser's internal memo thanked the company's security team for its "brave actions," according to FOX 13.

A response of more than 400 units

The first marked sheriff's unit arrived within about a minute of the first 911 call, and a deputy entered the building at 12:15 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Body camera footage released by the agency captured a deputy at 12:16 p.m. saying the subject was in the cafeteria and possibly down, WUSF reported.

More than 400 law enforcement units responded, including 367 from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, along with SWAT teams, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and state and federal agencies. "We stopped the threat," Losat told reporters, according to FOX 13. He credited the agency's multi-agency active shooter training for the speed of the response.

Deputies then had to make sure no one else posed a danger. The campus has six or seven three-story buildings, according to WUSF and FOX 13, and teams searched them floor by floor along with the parking garage. They found workers sheltering in locked rooms and closets and escorted them out, some with their hands raised. Clearing the buildings took about two and a half hours.

The sheriff's office also issued a traffic advisory asking commuters to avoid a busy nearby intersection while the area remained closed. The agency released 911 audio, body camera video and aviation footage from the response.

Workers describe the panic

David Dzien, a Citibank vice president, told the AP he was returning from lunch when he saw the sedan crash through a fence about 150 yards away, followed by what he called an "incredible clatter" that he later realized was gunfire. He said people near the car scattered and others screamed, and he left the building by a fire escape.

Dzien also told the AP that some executives who do not normally work at the complex were there that day for what he described as a quarterly review.

The Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, a few hundred feet from the campus, took in about 300 Citibank workers, according to general manager Matt Chauvin. He told the AP that staff first locked the doors and went into lockdown, but employees kept arriving, so the hotel let them in and handed out water and lunch, and offered rooms so some could make phone calls. "Luckily we were far enough away that they were all safe," Chauvin said.

FOX 13 reported that a husband and wife reunited outside after trading text messages while he was trapped inside one of the buildings.

What Citi has said

Citigroup said in a statement that it was "aware of an incident" at the complex and was cooperating with authorities. Fraser's memo said the Tampa campus was secure, that the company was adding security at other sites as necessary, and that counseling was available to employees, according to FOX 13.

For many families across the Tampa Bay area, the first word of the attack came through texts from relatives sheltering inside. WUSF reported that one father said his son fled the campus after hearing gunshots.

What investigators still don't know

The sheriff's office is investigating the shooting as a homicide. Several key questions remained open as of Thursday:

• The names of the gunman and the woman he killed, which the sheriff's office has not released while the investigation continues.
• Why the gunman targeted the campus, and whether he had any connection to the woman or to Citi.
• How the four other people were injured.

Processing the indoor and outdoor scenes was expected to take several hours, and detectives planned to interview witnesses Wednesday night, according to WUSF and FOX 13.

What's next

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with video or information about the shooting to come forward. Tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay or TIP 411, according to WUSF.

Identification of the woman and the gunman is expected once next of kin have been notified, and investigators are expected to provide more details about a possible motive as the homicide investigation moves forward. The Florida Press will update this story as the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office releases more information.