New shooting leaves several dead in Florida

JACKSONVILLE: Suspect dead after shots fired at video game shopping centre event

At least four people were dead and many had been taken to hospital after a mass shooting at a riverfront shopping centre in Jacksonville that was hosting a video game tournament, police in Florida said last night.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was reporting that one suspect was dead at the scene after the shooting at Jacksonville Landing, but it was unknown if there were other suspects involved.

There were reports that the man started firing after losing a game and then shot himself dead.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office used Twitter and Facebook to warn people to stay far away from the Jacksonville Landing.

The department said to “stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. Stay away”.

“We are finding many people hiding in locked areas at The Landing. We ask you to stay calm, stay where you are hiding.”

Drini Gjoka, a 19-year-old player taking part, described the shooting in a series of posts on Twitter, calling it “the worst day of (his) life”.

“I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb,” he tweeted.

The video stream of the tournament captured the shooting. As competitors were playing, more than a dozen gunshots rang out over roughly 20 seconds. The stream then went dead.

The GLHF Game Bar at the Landing was hosting a Madden 19 American football video game tournament at the time of the shooting.

Pictures: AP. Top: Police officers seal off the scene outside the shopping centre and, right, coastguard officers patrol the waters outside the centre.