Citibank shooting victim remembered by performing arts community
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The performing arts community dedicated an annual performance to LeAnne Selman, 41, after she was killed in a shooting on Citibank's corporate campus in Hillsborough County last week.
Selman was supposed to dance in the annual Tribal Burn at Sacred Lands Preservation on Saturday.
Gunfire on Citibank campus
The backstory:
Selman worked as a learning advisor at Citibank's corporate campus in Hillsborough County.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says, last Wednesday, a gunman crashed his car onto the campus, got out of the vehicle and started firing his rifle. Selman was outside eating lunch at the time, and she was shot and killed.
The gunman, Jacob Pearson, 35, was eventually confronted and shot by a Citibank security guard. He died at the hospital.
Tribal Burn honors dancer
Local perspective:
Selman was well-known in the performing arts community in the Tampa Bay region. Some of her friends had danced with her for 20 years.
She performed with Hip Expressions and several other dance companies, and was known for being a talented fire dancer, belly dancer, and hula hooper. Selman's friends say she was supposed to dance in the annual Tribal Burn at Sacred Lands Preservation.
The show went on Saturday night as planned, because her friends say canceling it would have been the last thing she would've wanted. A small fire burned next to the stage Saturday, lighting up a memorial dedicated to Selman.
Friends remember her spark
What they're saying:
Friends in the arts community said Selman had an immense sense of humility and wanted to see every person succeed.
"We're going to remember a smile that's going to give us something to go off of for years," Selman's friend, Steven Phillips, said. "She had a way of making you feel like you were taking the exact right amount of space. She always wanted there to be space, so that everybody could be themselves and feel creative."
Johanna Zenobia Taylor, who owns Hip Expressions, highlighted her presence both on and off-stage.
"She was just as comfortable as an amazing performer, center stage, being that shining, radiant, her smile, but she was also just as uncomfortable backstage, always a friendly face, always supportive," Taylor said.
Selman's friends say she inspired them by igniting her own passions.
"Boxes are for products, not people," Abby Albaum, another one of Selman's friends, said. "You can be a rock star at your job, and you can put on a crazy costume and fire dance on the weekends. I think all of us are multifaceted. Leanne is a prime example of somebody who ran in a bunch of different circles and brought value to every single one of them. And I think more people need to live their authenticity in that way."
Corporate donation funds arts
What's next:
Citi, the parent company of Citibank, announced Monday that it will donate $250,000 to the Community Foundation Tampa Bay for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Fund. It will support local artists and performers.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from interviews conducted with friends of LeAnne Selman, as well as official statements from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Citi.