Orlando man identified in deadly Tampa Citibank shooting; deputies say threat flagged to Orlando police

Deputies say an Orlando man shot and killed a Citibank employee in Tampa after becoming angry about a $2,500 debt, and that Orlando police were asked to check on him hours before the shooting.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister identified the suspect as 35-year-old Jacob Pearson.

“He was there intent on one purpose, and that purpose was to hunt any human being he could find and kill,” he said during a Thursday press conference.

Investigators say Pearson called a law firm contracted by Citibank on Wednesday morning and threatened to show up with an AR-15 unless his court date was canceled.

Citibank’s head of security, a retired Secret Service agent, then contacted police.

“He contacts the Orlando Police Department, where our suspect lives, and says ‘Would you guys mind going out there and doing a welfare check on this individual? This certainly doesn’t sound like something any sane person would say.’”

[RELATED: Orlando man ‘executed’ woman at Citibank building]

Orlando officers went to Pearson’s apartment complex, but deputies say he had already left. Investigators said Pearson’s wife told officers he seemed angry, but she did not know where he was going.

Authorities say Pearson drove about 90 miles to Tampa. By noon, investigators say, he crashed through a gate and shot a 41-year-old employee. Deputies say he then grabbed another gun and shot the employee again as she was crawling away.

A Citibank security guard confronted Pearson and shot him five times, killing him, authorities said.

Investigators credited the guard with preventing the incident from becoming a mass shooting.

“We’re talking about one loss of life, and it’s one loss of life too many,” Chronister said. “But to see potential in this incident that could’ve been much worse, I stand here very grateful.”

At Pearson’s Orlando apartment complex, neighbors said they were stunned.

Kadejah Hopkins, who lives nearby, had her son outside playing when police swarmed the area Wednesday night.

She locked her doors and didn’t know why until Thursday afternoon.

The young mother said the situation was a reminder that danger can be hard to spot.

“It’s good to be aware, but we could walking past a million people, and we don’t even know who they are, what they are or what they do,” Hopkins said.

Investigators said Pearson had no criminal record.

Neighbors described him as a quiet family man and said he was often seen with his young daughter.

One person had interactions with him believed him to be a “nice person.”

News 6 knocked on the door at the apartment where the suspect lived with his wife but no one answered. Pearson’s wife did not respond to messages.

Deputies said Pearson had recently received a summons to appear in court in February over the debt.