Terrifying new video shows a gunman crashing a vehicle into a Citibank office building outside Tampa, stepping out with a firearm and opening fire.
One victim is dead. The gunman is also dead, and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says investigators believe the attack was targeted.
The footage is difficult to watch. A vehicle strikes the entrance, a man emerges, and people nearby begin running as the attack unfolds.
Authorities have not publicly identified the victim or gunman. They have also not released a motive or explained the relationship that led investigators to describe the violence as targeted.
That early custody update was overtaken by the sheriff’s next announcement that the suspect had died. HCSO later confirmed the death of one victim while deputies continued clearing the sprawling office campus.
The scale of the police response shows how much remained unknown in the first minutes. The Associated Press reported that more than 360 deputies swarmed the Citibank campus while workers streamed out of the buildings.
The complex sits in the Brandon area east of Tampa and contains four three-story office buildings. Thousands of employees work across the campus, turning a targeted act into an immediate emergency for an enormous number of people.
Deputies conducted a floor-by-floor search and found employees sheltering in locked rooms and closets. Officers escorted workers from the buildings and parking garage while the campus remained under a massive law-enforcement presence.
Citigroup acknowledged the incident and said it was cooperating with authorities. One employee’s father described receiving a call from his son after the worker fled upon hearing gunfire, then struggling to stay in contact while the response continued.
HCSO urged the public to avoid the area around Falkenburg Road and nearby streets as deputies secured the scene. Families were directed to a reunification location while employees were moved away from the complex.
The video adds a crucial piece of evidence to the timeline because it captures the attack beginning outside the building. It appears to show the vehicle strike the entrance before the gunman exits and fires.
Investigators will now have to determine why that location and victim were selected. They will also have to reconstruct the gunman’s movements, identify the weapon and establish how the gunman died.
Those answers should come from HCSO’s evidence, medical findings and witness interviews. Early social-media claims about motive, identity or ideology remain unverified until authorities place those facts on the record.
The sheriff’s use of the word “targeted” is significant. It indicates that investigators do not currently view the attack as random, although it does not reveal who was targeted or why.
For thousands of workers, the distinction offered little comfort during the evacuation. Employees hiding behind locked doors had no way to know whether another attacker remained inside or whether the danger had ended.
The confirmed toll currently stands at two dead: one victim and the gunman. Any additional casualty information will require another official update.
This remains a developing investigation. The identities, motive and full sequence of events were still being withheld when this article was published.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
The post WATCH: Gunman Rams Tampa Citibank Building, Opens Fire — Two Dead in Targeted Attack appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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