JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing several people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said three people were killed, including the gunman, during the mass shooting at a video game tournament at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Williams said Sunday evening he believed the shooter is 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore. He said the FBI was searching the man’s home as part of the investigation.
Williams said nine other people were wounded by gunfire and are in stable condition and two others were hurt while fleeing the shots. He said the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Williams said Katz committed the shooting with a single handgun. He said Katz was in Jacksonville for the Madden NFL 19 video game tournament. The game's maker, EA Sports, lists a David Katz as a 2017 championship winner.
The competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Timothy Smith, a South Carolina gamer, told Channel 9 he heard many gunshots from the mass shooting unfolding on television while livestreaming the tournament.
“I think it ended up being 15 gunshots altogether. I could hear screaming in the background,” Smith said. “After the first two, I already knew what was happening. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, they're shooting at this event’ and I was in this game chat with friends. It’s surreal."
Smith, who is from Pageland, told Channel 9 he was supposed to be at the tournament in Jacksonville.
"I was supposed to go, but since it was my birthday weekend, I didn't go,” Smith said.
Smith said he knew some of the victims and played them every year.
Sources told Channel 9's sister station in Jacksonville that the shooter lost an intense game at the tournament, snapped and started shooting.
"This video game is supposed to be an escape from the stress of life, and the whole bunch of mess that goes on, and for this to happen is such a shame,” Smith said.
Local security expert Walter Kimble said he believes some of the same security measures you see at concerts and sporting events may soon be instituted at game tournaments.
"This is something very much out of the norm, and historically hasn't transpired before at gaming events,” Kimble said. "I think there is going to be a reevaluation, reassessment after this incident of what we can do better and how better protect those taking advantage of those at tournaments."
(WARNING: Graphic video)
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said.
A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of compLexity, a company that owns professional esports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb.
Gjoka tweeted: "The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng and never coming back." Then: "I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life."
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 Marquis Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
The Sheriff's Office used Twitter and Facebook to warn people to stay far away, and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911.
Police barricaded a three-block radius around the mall. Officers and Coast Guard boats patrolled the nearby river. Many ambulances could be seen in the area, but the mall area appeared empty of all but law enforcement. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city's downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
Associated Press
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