Deputies respond to 'active threat' at Citibank Center near Tampa; sheriff says the suspect is dead
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies and SWAT officers responded on Wednesday to what the agency called an "active threat" at Citibank Center, Citi's large campus in the Sabal Park business area of Brandon, near Tampa, Florida, after reports of an active shooter. Sheriff Chad Chronister said the incident appeared to be targeted and later said the suspect involved is dead. Officials have not said whether anyone else was hurt.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) and SWAT officers responded on Wednesday, 4 November, to an "active threat" at Citibank Center, Citi's corporate campus near Interstate 75 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Brandon, in the Tampa area of Florida.
The response began shortly after midday local time, as reports of an active shooter at the site spread on social media. At 12:41 p.m. the sheriff's office issued a traffic alert asking drivers to avoid Queen Palm Drive and Falkenburg Road, then said it was "on an active scene" around Princess Palm Avenue and Falkenburg Road. Shortly after 1 p.m. HCSO said it had "responded to an active threat and is currently clearing the building".
At 1:16 p.m. Sheriff Chad Chronister wrote that, based on preliminary details, "we believe this is a targeted incident" and that one person was in custody. Less than ten minutes later he posted a further update: "The suspect involved is deceased." He did not say how the suspect died.
The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that thousands of employees were evacuating the campus, one of Citi's largest hubs in the United States. Aerial footage from local stations showed SWAT units moving across the site and crowds of workers gathered outside. The sheriff's office asked Citibank employees to meet at a reunification site in the parking lot of the Sheraton at Queen Palm Drive and Princess Palm Avenue.
As of the latest official updates, authorities had not confirmed whether shots were fired, whether anyone else was injured, who the suspect was or what led to the incident. FOX 13 Tampa Bay said officials had not yet given those details or said when the roads would reopen.
This is a developing story and will be updated as officials release more information.