Fla. gamer recounts shooting, files lawsuit
Alleges negligence at tournament
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jacob Mitich had made it to Round Two of the Madden NFL 19 tournament in Jacksonville, and had almost scored a touchdown when the shots rang out.
Vaulting over a table, he scrambled to exit the crowded room. At first he ran outside to the waterfront where he and friends had watched dolphins the day before. Thinking the shooter might follow, he sprinted for a few more minutes while operating on pure adrenaline.
“That’s when my leg started to hurt bad. I thought it was cramping. I went to grab my left leg and there was blood everywhere. I’d been shot.”
Mitich was one of 10 people injured Sunday during the esports competition. Three died, including the shooter.
Now, Mitich is filing a lawsuit against the game developer that held the tournament, the pizza parlor that hosted the event and the mall where it was located.
“We’re sitting there playing a video game, we shouldn’t have to worry about someone coming up behind us and shooting us,” said Mitich, a 23-year-old college student from Fallson, Md.
Mitich and his attorney filed suit in circuit court in Duval County yesterday.
A longtime Madden gamer, he and other elite esports players went to these kinds of events not only in hopes of winning money, but to catch up with their tribe of gamers.
On Sunday, everyone rolled into the tournament area around 10. Sometime that morning, a 24-yearold former champion gamer named David Katz lost, but didn’t make a big deal about it and few people paid attention.
Then it was Mitich’s turn. It was Round Two, which meant he was advancing in the tournament.
“Pop, pop, pop. I thought it was a balloon. I didn’t know what it was,” he said. He heard someone say the word, “shooter,” and that’s when he ran. Katz was the shooter.
As Mitich discovered that he was shot, a passer-by helped him hobble to a nearby office building, where a security guard let them in.
Mitich’s injuries weren’t serious — he was released from the hospital that night and flew home Monday morning.
His attorney, James Young with Morgan & Morgan in Jacksonville, said the lawsuit alleges negligence. There was no off-duty officer for the event, which drew more than 100 people, he said. The mall had a private security guard, but Young said it’s unclear where she was during the shooting.