Florida Gunman Targets Citibank Over $2,500 Debt, Ends in Tragedy

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The shirtless gunman who killed one woman and sent thousands fleeing at Citibank’s Florida campus on Wednesday threatened to shoot up the financial institution over a measly $2,500 debt collection just hours before the carnage.

Weeks before the bloodshed, Citibank filed a complaint against the shooter, Jacob Pearson, 35, on Oct. 23, advising he owed over $2,500 in credit card debt, according to Orange County court documents.

About three hours before the shooting, Pearson called an attorney associated with Citibank and demanded the lawyer cancel a February court hearing over his unpaid credit card debt, “unless you want me to go over there with my AR-15, my bulletproof vest and my insanity,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told reporters Thursday.

The lawyer alerted Citibank’s security team and law enforcement to be on the lookout for the maniac while cops went to his Orlando home but were told by his wife he had left, the sheriff said.

Pearson drove about 90 miles from his home to the Tampa complex, where he crashed his car through a fence and plowed into a courtyard where employees were eating lunch, according to Chronister. 

He then got out of his car with a rifle and shot the first employee he laid eyes on — 41-year-old Leanne Selman, who worked in Citibank’s human resources department.

Pearson’s rifle jammed after three shots and then he raced back to his car to retrieve a handgun and shot Selman again, ultimately killing her. 

There was “zero connection” between Selman and Pearson, the sheriff noted. They were strangers to each other.

The gunman then stormed the facility’s cafeteria intent on finding more victims but was shot dead by Citibank security guard John Fraley, who took up a tactical position in the men’s restroom before putting five bullets in Pearson.

“He was there intent on one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill them,” the sheriff said.

The armed nutjob brought 90 rounds of ammunition to the campus but fired only 15 times before he was shot, Chronister said. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Pearson’s father told the Associated Press he had never experienced anything that would indicate his son was capable of committing such a devastating event. 

The dad said he last spoke with Pearson weeks before the shooting, noting that his son sounded fine and did not mention his financial situation. 

Selman was the only victim shot. The four people wounded were taken to the hospital for minor injuries sustained while escaping the chaotic scene.

Selman, who worked at Citibank for nine years, was a “beloved employee,” said Ed Skyler, spokesperson for the bank’s parent company, Citigroup.  

“We will not be demanding people return to the scene of this incident on Monday or in the very near future,” Skyler said. 

“It’s really important for us to recognize the traumatic events that our colleagues experienced.”

With Post wires