China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Video game tourney turns deadly
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — A man whom witnesses described as a player in a livestreamed football video game tournament shot and killed two people and then himself, police and local media said.
Eleven other people were injured in the gunfire and ensuing chaos.
Police identified the suspect as David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland, who witnesses said opened fire during a Madden NFL 19 competition at Chicago Pizza at the Jacksonville Landing, a downtown waterfront mall.
Witnesses said the shooting began at 1:34 pm after the suspect had lost in the tournament.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, who would not confirm the motive behind the shooting, said Katz used “at least one handgun” on the victims and himself.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives visited Katz’s residence in Baltimore and impounded his car.
The tournament drew players to Jacksonville who were competing for a spot in a 16-player competition in Las Vegas, the Florida Times-Union reported.
The tournament was shown on a video game livestream service called Twitch, which captured what sounded like gunshots and screams in the background of game play. Williams said investigators have seen the Twitch video, the newspaper reported.
One Twitter user, Drini Gjoka, said he was taking part in the tournament and was shot in the thumb.
“Worst day of my life,” Gjoka wrote on Twitter. “I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second.”
Another gamer, Chris “Dubby” McFarland, was hospitalized after a bullet grazed his head. “I feel fine, just a scratch on my head. Traumatized and devastated,” he wrote on Twitter.
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire. Williams said people trampled each other trying to get away.
“Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running,” said Williams, who had participated in the tournament earlier.
The latest shooting occurred amid a debate over US gun laws that was given fresh impetus by the massacre in February of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Two years ago, a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
The sheriff’s office said many people were transported to hospitals, and its deputies found many others hiding in locked areas at The Landing.
Six victims were taken to Jacksonville’s UF Health Hospital, five of them in stable condition and one in serious condition, hospital staff said.
A spokesman for Jacksonville’s Memorial Hospital said it was treating three victims, all of whom were in stable condition.
Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who is challenging longtime Democratic Senator Bill Nelson in November’s election, said he had offered to provide local authorities with any state resources they might need.
“Word of another tragic mass shooting in our state brings shock and outrage,” Nelson said on Twitter.
Marco Rubio, US senator from Florida, said both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were coordinating with local authorities to provide assistance.
US President Donald Trump has been briefed and is monitoring the situation in Jacksonville, the White House said.
Reacting to news of the shooting during the tournament involving its game, Madden 19 maker Electronic Arts Inc said it was working with authorities to gather facts.
“This is a horrible situation, and our deepest sympathies go out to all involved,” the company said on Twitter.