A Wednesday lunch hour at Citibank Center in Hillsborough County turned deadly when a man drove a four-door sedan through a fenced gate, headed toward a group of women eating outside, and fatally shot one of them. An armed security guard confronted the suspect, gunfire was exchanged, and the man — who was carrying a rifle — was shot, taken to a hospital, and pronounced dead. Deputies received the first call at 12:11 p.m. and had both the suspect and the victim confirmed dead by 1:34 p.m.
The scale of the response stands out. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says 367 deputies responded to the scene, and investigators are preparing to interview 3,200 employees as they work to piece together a timeline. Chief Deputy Frank Losat briefed the public at a news conference, but many details remain unconfirmed, and officials are asking the public to avoid the Princess Palm Avenue and Falkenburg Road area while the investigation continues.
For those of us who live and work across the Suncoast, this hits close to home. Large office parks are part of daily life here, and a normal lunch outside shouldn’t ever turn into this. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and the employees who witnessed it.
Do you know your workplace safety plan — and where you’d go if something like this happened at your building? Let us know on our Facebook page.
