JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A suspected gunman and two others are dead after a shooting at an eSports competition in downtown Jacksonville on Sunday.
The shooting, which took place at GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville Landing, an outdoor entertainment, and shopping complex in downtown Jacksonville, also left nine victims injured, 7 with gunshot wounds and two others with unspecified injuries, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s department.
The shooting took place at a sanctioned competition for Electronic Arts’ “Madden NFL 19” according to the video game company. The tournament was a satellite event with the winners qualifying for the 2019 Madden Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In a statement released after the shooting, a spokesperson for the venue said: “Thank you for all of your support after today’s tragedy.. Please keep the friends and families of everyone affected in your thoughts or prayers. We will get through this together. We will keep you updated on everything in the days to come.”
During a press conference Sheriff, Mike Williams identified the suspected shooter as 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore. Williams said that the suspect used a single weapon — a semiautomatic handgun, and appeared to have died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to local media, Katz was one of the competitors at the event but had been eliminated early from the competition. Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, as well as the FBI’s Jacksonville field office, are assisting in the investigation.
Live streams from the event captured the sound of gunfire and in one instance, appears to show a red laser dot on the chest of one of the reported victims at the event.
