The sore loser who turned into a killer
‘Deadly revenge of beaten games fan’
ONLY last year murderous David Katz was filmed boasting about his skills on video game Madden NFL.
But while his words suggested he took the American football simulation very seriously, it offered no clue he would later see it as a matter of life or death.
Police believe the 24-year-old may have shot dead two rivals at a Madden NFL 19 tournament after going into a rage at being knocked out.
He gunned down Taylor “Spotmeplzz” Robertson, 27, and Eli “Trueboy” Clayton, 22, before taking his own life at the Jacksonville Landing Complex in Florida on Sunday afternoon.
Eleven were also wounded by the attack at a gaming bar that was hosting the contest. Katz, known as “Bread”, was playing for a €4,300 prize in the regional heat. But had he won, he would have gone on to the finals in Las Vegas to compete for a €141,000 first prize.
It was not clear if Katz knew Eli, of Woodland Hills, California, or married father Taylor, of Ballard, West Virginia.
Footage emerged yesterday of the killer, from Baltimore, Maryland, taking part in a Madden tournament last year.
After defeating the number two seed, he said: “I don’t think of myself as a seventh seed. I think, personally, I’m one of the better players and I like to let my game prove that. I understand the game really well. My opponent probably should’ve called his timeouts.”
Katz won €8,800 in that tournament in Buffalo, New York, but lost in the quarter finals in California. F o o t a g e from Sunday’s
Police car at scene. Right, gun officers arriving event shows a red laser dot appearing on Eli’s chest before Katz pulled the trigger. Among the wounded was Tony Montagnino, 34, of Round Rock, Texas. He was hit in the lower back but survived. Tony’s voice is heard on an audio recording of the shooting.
He said: “I ask, ‘What are you shooting me with?’ My first reaction was why is there firecrackers in here then I actually got hit. I’d never been shot before. I just went into survival mode and wanted to make sure I was out of there.” Tony added he saw everyone in the tournament as a friend and could never have predicted the tragedy. He added: “I was the lucky one. There are two guys that you’ll never get to shake their hands at a tournament again.”