Terror inside a room, agony streamed online

Video-game shooting sparks security debate

Authorities continued to investigate Monday why a player at a videogame tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, gunned down two people and wounded 11 Sunday, an incident that has prompted calls for more security at gaming events.

The Jacksonville Sheriff ’s Office said the lone shooter, who is believed to be David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, was among the dead and had killed himself. No motive has been revealed. Some media reports said Katz was upset about losing an intense game.

FBI agents, some of them in bulletproof vests with long guns, searched a family home of the man authorities believe is behind the attack in Baltimore, FBI spokesman Dave Fitz said. The agents could be seen entering an upscale townhome complex near the city’s Inner Harbor.

The violence broke out during a Madden NFL 19 video game tournament in a gaming bar that shared space with the Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille in an entertainment complex along the St. Johns River.

The incident stunned gamers and sparked questions about security at gaming events. They are typically livestreamed from bars or other gathering spots; the largest are in sports arenas. Another tournament, the Evolution Championship Series in Las Vegas, drew about 15,000 people in March.

“It’s very clear that we need to be more proactive for 2019 and beyond,” tweeted Joey Cuellar, the tournament director.

Esports have become big business, which Goldman Sachs reported were valued at $500 million in 2016. At Sunday’s Madden competition, the tournament was streamed live on Twitch.tv, an online network that attracts tens of millions of visitors, most of whom watch footage of other people playing video games.

“In the world of competitive video games, mental health issues loom so large and come up so often that the problem somehow becomes invisible,” wrote Tyler Erzberger, who covers esports for ESPN. “In a world where one day you can go from playing in your bedroom to the next being criticized by millions under spotlights, mental health can’t be overlooked.”

A live feed from the tournament showed the horror: The feed was interrupted by the sound of gunshots, followed by people stampeding for the doors. The shooter had a large-caliber handgun with a laser-sight attachment, said Braheem Johnson of Jacksonville, who was working at the pizzeria.

“I just heard shots and I looked at the window and I see him,” Johnson said. “Dude came in there, basically like, to kill . ... He was just in his rampage mode.”

Marquis Williams and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, were visiting from Chicago. “The first shot, everybody just turned around and looked,” Williams said. “The second, third, fourth shots, everyone just took off.”

Poindexter said they caught sight of the shooter.

“We saw him, had two hands on the gun, walking back, just popping rounds.”

CRAIG BAILEY/USA TODAY NETWORK Two people were killed Sunday in a shooting rampage at a video-game tourney.