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Three Dead, Including the Gunman, in Shooting at Florida Gaming Tournament Three Dead, Including the Gunman, in Shooting at Florida Gaming Tournament
(35 minutes later)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two people were killed and nine others injured by gunfire Sunday when a gunman opened fire at a restaurant in Jacksonville, Fla., that was hosting a live gaming event. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A gunman armed with a handgun killed two people at a video gaming tournament on Sunday, turning a football competition waged in a virtual domain into the chaotic scene of a double murder. The shooting suspect, a gamer attending the event, then fatally shot himself, the authorities said.
Also killed was the gunman, whom the police identified as 24-year-old David Katz, of Baltimore, Md. He took his own life, the authorities said. Two other people were wounded while fleeing the crowded restaurant as the shooting broke out. Sheriff Mike Williams of Jacksonville identified the suspect as David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, but said it was too early to know his motive. The sheriff said the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation.
Sheriff Mike Williams of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said he was not prepared to discuss a motive, but confirmed that the suspect had traveled to Jacksonville for the gaming competition. A live-stream of the tournament caught the chilling moment when the shooting began. A red laser dot appeared on the chest of one of the players, who was wearing white headphones and a red sweatshirt. The video of the players then disappeared. Twelve gunshots rang out.
“We have faced an occurrence that is all too common,” Mayor Lenny Curry told reporters Sunday night. “Tonight, we pray for the wounded and we pray for the families of those who were lost.” Eleven people were injured, nine by gunshots.
The police declined to discuss details of how the shooting unfolded, but did say there were no other people being sought by the authorities. Mr. Katz’s vehicle has been recovered and was being searched, Sheriff Williams said. The shooting took place at 1:34 p.m. at the Jacksonville Landing, a riverfront collection of restaurants, shops and an open-air performance space that is a gathering place in the city on weekends. President Trump held a packed rally there as a candidate in 2015. By late Sunday, it was surrounded by fire trucks and police vehicles, its perimeter roped off by police tape. SWAT team officers stood at the entrance of a nearby parking garage. A helicopter flew high overhead.
The shooting unfolded in dramatic fashion during a live stream of the gaming tournament. Just before the shots were heard, a red laser dot appeared on the chest of one of the players, who was wearing white headphones and a red sweatshirt. The video of the players then disappeared. “We have faced an occurrence that is all too common,” Mayor Lenny Curry told reporters on Sunday night. “Tonight, we pray for the wounded and we pray for the families of those who were lost.”
Sujeil Lopez was at home in the Tampa Bay area in Florida, when she got a call that her 25-year-old son, a professional video game player, had been shot. Gov. Rick Scott, who spoke with President Trump about the shooting, was scheduled to travel to Jacksonville on Sunday night, his office said.
“I have to get to him. I am four hours away from him and I have to get to my son,” Ms. Lopez said on the phone. Another feared mass shooting in gun-friendly Florida, six months after a massacre at a Parkland high school left 17 people dead, rattled locals and visitors and rippled through the state’s political establishment. Florida’s primary election takes place on Tuesday; five Democrats running for governor decried the violence and reiterated their push for gun control. The two Republican candidates canceled planned campaign events in the Jacksonville area.
“He was shot three times, once on the nipple, once on his hand and somewhere else,” Ms. Lopez said. She did not know his condition. Jacksonville was already reeling from another deadly shooting on Friday, when one person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting after a high school football game. Mayor Curry blamed that violence on youth gangs.
“How long is it going to take for us to get guns off the street?” Marquis Williams, 28, told local reporters after his girlfriend was treated for an ankle injury. “How many more people, how many more friends, do we have to lose — die — to this?”
Mr. Williams and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, had come to the tournament from Chicago. They wore Bears jerseys and had been at the bar preparing to order a pizza at Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille, which shares an entrance with the space hosting the gaming tournament in the Jacksonville Landing, when the shooting began.
“We heard a first pop, thought it was a balloon,” Mr. Williams told The Florida Times-Union. “And then we heard multiple pops. Took off running.”
Ms. Poindexter said she was trampled on the way out.
“Never did I once think, ‘Oh, we’re going to be part of a mass shooting and I’m on crutches just playing video games,’” she said. “It’s crazy.”
Sujeil Lopez was at home in the Tampa Bay area when she got a call that her 25-year-old son, who plays video games professionally, had been shot.
“I have to get to him. I am four hours away from him and I have to get to my son,” Ms. Lopez said in a telephone interview. “He was shot three times, once on the nipple, once on his hand and somewhere else.” She did not know his condition.
A professional video game organization, compLexity Gaming, said on Twitter that it had a player at the tournament who “suffered a small injury” when a bullet grazed his hand but that “he is away from the scene.”A professional video game organization, compLexity Gaming, said on Twitter that it had a player at the tournament who “suffered a small injury” when a bullet grazed his hand but that “he is away from the scene.”
The player, Drini Gjoka, tweeted on Sunday that the “tourney just got shot up.” The player, Drini Gjoka, wrote on Twitter that the “tourney just got shot up.”
“I am literally so lucky,” he said. “The bullet hit my thumb.” In another tweet he said he would “never take anything for granted ever again.” “I am literally so lucky,” he said. “The bullet hit my thumb.” In another Twitter post, he said he would “never take anything for granted ever again.”
Ryan Aleman, who was at the bar, told CNN that he saw “at least six bodies on the floor” of people who had been shot. People ran in panic from the restaurant, and at least two people were injured while fleeing, police said.
The shooting took place at the Jacksonville Landing, a riverfront venue with an open-air performance space and a collection of shops and restaurants. The venue, on the north bank of the St. Johns River, can accommodate thousands of people; President Trump held a packed rally there as a candidate in 2015. The area, however, used to be more lively and has been the subject of recent redevelopment discussions by city officials. “The look on everybody’s face was like they were terrified,” the witness Javari Long told the local Fox affiliate, noting the presence of families and “babies” at the pizza joint next to the gaming tournament. “It’s games.”
Jacksonville was already reeling from another deadly shooting that occurred on Friday, in which one person was killed and two others were injured in a shooting after a high school football game. Mayor Curry blamed that violence on youth gangs. After Sunday’s shooting, Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville treated three patients who were all in stable condition, a spokesman, Peter Moberg, said. Another hospital, UF Health Jacksonville, was treating six patients, one of them in serious condition and five in good condition, said the hospital’s spokesman, Dan Leveton.
After Sunday’s shooting, Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville was treating three patients who were all in stable condition, said Peter Moberg, a spokesman. Another hospital, UF Health Jacksonville, was treating six patients, one of them in serious condition and five in good condition, Dan Leveton, a spokesman, said.
Doctors at UF Health Jacksonville told reporters that the most seriously injured of the patients there had been shot in the chest but was expected to survive. Three patients were shot once; the others were shot more than once, said Dr. Marie Crandall, a trauma surgeon. The patients range in age from 20 to 35.Doctors at UF Health Jacksonville told reporters that the most seriously injured of the patients there had been shot in the chest but was expected to survive. Three patients were shot once; the others were shot more than once, said Dr. Marie Crandall, a trauma surgeon. The patients range in age from 20 to 35.
Taylor Poindexter, 26, told local reporters she injured her ankle after being trampled by people escaping the shooting. She and her boyfriend, Marquis Williams, 28, had come to the tournament from Chicago — both wore Bears jerseys — and had been in the bar preparing to order a pizza when the shooting began. The shooting happened at the GLHF Game Bar, which is short for “Good Luck Have Fun.” The venue located inside the pizza restaurant was hosting a tournament that viewers could watch on Twitch, a gaming network owned by Amazon. Spectators watch the games, many hoping to pick up skills and tips from more experienced gamers.
“We heard a first pop, thought it was a balloon,” Mr. Williams told The Florida Times-Union. “And then we heard multiple pops. Took off running.” The bar was scheduled to host a qualifying round for the Madden NFL Championship Series, a gaming tournament. Madden NFL 19, developed by Electronic Arts, is the 30th installment of the popular N.F.L. video game series, which has sold over 100 million copies. Its release each summer — just before the start of the football season — is practically a holiday for many N.F.L. and video game fans.
“Never did I once think, ‘Oh, we’re going to be part of a mass shooting and I’m on crutches just playing video games,’” Ms. Poindexter said. “It’s crazy.” The shooting took place at the southeast regional qualifying contest for a Madden tournament. It advertised a $5,000 grand prize, and the top two finishers were to receive a berth in the finals in October.
“How long is it going to take for us to get guns off the street?” Mr. Williams said. “How long is it going to take for us to deal with someone who may be mentally unstable, when they could have gotten the help that they deserved in the beginning? How many more people, how many more friends, do we have to lose — die — to this? When are the politicians going to wake up and stop sitting on their butts collecting checks and do something?” In a video clip shared on social media, the game could be seen on a television screen. Someone playing as the Atlanta Falcons appeared to have scored, and was kicking off. Commentators remarked that the players were so good that it would not be easy to knock anyone out of the tournament.
Witnesses who were inside the Jacksonville Landing said people dropped to the ground or ran out outside as shots rang out. Police patrols, in cars and on boats, raced to the scene.
“The look on everybody’s face was like they were terrified,” Javari Long told the local Fox affiliate, noting the presence of families and “babies” at the pizza restaurant next to the gaming tournament. “It’s games.”
The shooting happened at the GLHF Game Bar, which was hosting a tournament that viewers could watch on Twitch, the Amazon-owned live streaming platform used heavily by gamers.
A video clip shared on Twitter, which has since been taken down, showed the football video game Madden on a television screen.
Someone playing as the Atlanta Falcons appeared to have scored, and was kicking off. Tournament commentators remarked that the players were so good that it would not be easy to knock anyone out of the tournament.
“Run run run run run pass run run run,” one viewer said in a comment stream as the game unfolded.“Run run run run run pass run run run,” one viewer said in a comment stream as the game unfolded.
Then the sound of gunfire begins. Several shots can be heard, one after another. Then the sound of gunfire began. Several shots could be heard, one after another.
Then as the shots sound, commenters repeatedly said “oh my god.” Then as the shots sounded, commenters repeatedly said, “Oh my god.”
“Is there a shooting?” a viewer asked.“Is there a shooting?” a viewer asked.
“That’s a gun,” said another.“That’s a gun,” said another.
The video then cut off.The video then cut off.
The bar was scheduled to host a qualifying round for the Madden NFL Championship Series, a gaming tournament.
Madden NFL 19 is the 30th installment of the popular N.F.L. video game series, which has sold over 100 million copies. Developed by EA Sports, its release each summer — just before the start of the football season — is practically a holiday for many N.F.L. and video game fans. Madden NFL 19 was released about two weeks ago.
The shooting took place at the southeast regional qualifying contest for the Madden NFL 19 Classic tournament, which advertised a $5,000 grand prize, and was open to any competitors as part of the broader Madden NFL Championship series of tournaments. The top two finishers were to receive a berth in the finals in October.
The tournament, like most esports tournaments big and small, was being streamed on Twitch, . Spectators watch the games, many hoping to pick up skills and tips from more experienced gamers.
EA Sports said in a tweet: “We are aware of an incident at a sanctioned Madden Championship Series competition in Jacksonville. We are working with authorities to gather facts at this stage.”