A video game tournament competitor who went on a shooting rampage killed two people and wounded 11 others on Sunday. The gunman later turned the gun on himself in the incident which happened in the northern Florida city of Jacksonville. Some reports say that the shooter was a gamer who lost one of the games to a competitor.
The suspect was identified as 24-year-old David Katz from Baltimore, Maryland, by Sheriff Mike Williams. “There were three deceased individuals at the scene, one of those being the suspect, who took his own life,” Williams told reporters.
Seven of the victims of the shooting at a Madden NFL 19 Tournament at the GLHF Game Bar had gunshot wounds. Williams said Katz was a competitor in the eSports tournament and used “at least one handgun” to carry out the shooting.
Madden is a hugely popular multi-player video game based on the National Football League (NFL). The NFL said in a statement that it was “shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific tragedy.”
Madden’s creator, EA Sports, said in a statement: “This is a horrible situation, and our deepest sympathies go out to all involved.”
Sheriff Williams said the shooting occurred inside the Chicago Pizza restaurant in the complex around 1:30 pm (1730 GMT). He added that his department was in possession of footage capturing the incident.
In disturbing footage which was captured on Twitch, several gunshots could be heard in the background, before the stream disconnected. Twitch removed the video, but it remained available on several social media sites.
(Warning: footage may be disturbing to some)
CompLexity Gaming, one of the gaming teams, said its player Drini Gjoka was grazed on the hand. Several social media users said that a professional gamer known as “oLARRY2K,” of Bucks Gaming, was shot in the chest.
President Donald Trump has offered “any federal resources needed” in further investigation of the incident.
