Citibank shooter angry over debt killed employee

Tonight we are getting a glimpse inside the Citibank campus in Brandon when an angry gunman searched for victims. You see here a video of them crashing through the gates of the company's Brandon complex. This was right around lunchtime, noon on Wednesday, barely missing that employee there at a picnic table. And then this video actually shows him entering the cafeteria, and this might be tough for some of you to see. You see him coming through these double doors here. This was right after he shot and killed an employee outside, a woman. Sheriff Trad Conister says that he was angry over a Citibank debt, $2,500, and he planned to keep killing other employees. But a heroic security guard who you see right there, a Marine veteran, got in his way. In our scenario yesterday, what you're watching now is our hero. He takes a tactical position in the men's restroom. He sees a suspect coming, and he engages this suspect. He fires rounds and now he finds himself in a gunfight because the suspect is returning gunfire. He fires some more rounds and he's able to strike the suspect five times. And while that security guard saved thousands of lives, one person never made it home. Yeah, tonight we have some new information about the innocent victim that he killed and the security guard who stopped that madness. FOX 13's Blake Devine spoke with the victim's family and friends tonight. We're also learning more about the suspected shooter. But let's start with reporter Brianna Arredondo, live outside the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, where investigators filled us in on a few more details. Brianna, such an expansive investigation, so much at stake here, so many different witnesses. What have you learned here tonight? Yeah, I mean, Mark, one of the most pressing questions through all of this was why this shooting happened in the first place. And the sheriff did give us a lot more details and answers in regards to that, including the fact that three hours had passed between the first threat being made and the first shots being fired. New video from law enforcement shows the horror unfolding at Citibank's intern Brandon Wednesday. And it all traces back to 35-year-old Jacob Pearson from Orlando. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says Pearson got a court summons for $2,500 in debt he owed. And around 9 a.m., he sent Citibank's attorney this threatening email. Unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest. And my insanity, you MF and cancel this court case. Do you understand me? There are only an hour and three minutes away. So the last thing you want to do is F with me. The sheriff says Citibank recognized it as a legitimate threat and reached out to Orlando police who did a welfare check. His wife, our suspect's wife, who's been extremely cooperative throughout this whole process. Says he left, he didn't say where he was going, just he appeared to be angry, got in his car and left. In the time Pearson drives from Orlando to Brandon, Citibank's security called Hillsborough deputies. Our security team was aware of it, was changing their security posture as the event was starting. A few deputies were arriving to the campus, working out where to stage with security, when around noon, chaos erupted. As he's arriving on scene. The supervisor hears gunshots. The security officer says courtyard, courtyard and hangs up the phone. Pearson crashes through the gate, walks to the first person he sees and shoots her. That victim is 41 year old Leanne Selman. As he shoots her, his rifle begins to malfunction. This suspect returns back to his car, retrieves his handgun, Walks back over to the victim. Who's trying to crawl away with her life and executes her. As workers run and hide, Pearson goes into the building's cafeteria. Investigators say that's when the Vice President of Security and Marine veteran John Fraley sprung into action. This Citibank employee who runs towards danger, he takes a tactical position in the men's restroom knowing that he heard the gunshots. He hears the door open and he sees a suspect coming and he engages this suspect. Pearson was shot five times and died at Tampa General Hospital. This suspect was armed with 90 rounds of ammunition. As you see in that cafeteria, he was there intent on one purpose. And that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill. And investigators say that this was clearly targeted in this instance, and the sheriff also said that the suspect clearly blamed any Citibank employee that he came across for his own debt. However, it was, of course, the quick action of that security guard who helped prevent this from becoming an even worse tragedy. Brianna, let me ask you this beyond the threat and obviously him carrying this out and the debt that you mentioned here. What else do we know about the suspect's background? Any violence or any history of any other criminal behavior? Yeah, so Mark, the sheriff was explaining to us that aside from the debt collection court case, I mean, he had no criminal history. He is married with a seven-year-old child, but as far as they know, he had no record of having any sort of violence or criminal history in his background. Imagine having to explain that to his son. Brianna Ardondo, Lifeforce. Brianna, thanks much.