ABOVE PHOTO: Eli “True Boy” Clayton, one of the dead at the Madden Tournament. (Photo: EA Sports Promotional)
By Russ Bynum and Brendan Farrington
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing two people and sending nine to hospitals, authorities said.
It happened at Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River.
Updated reports say David Katz, 24, of Baltimore was the shooter and that the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to release information.
Katz attacked the video football tournament, which featured the game “Madden NFL 19.” The competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players. Video seems to show gamer Eli “True Boy” Clayton with a red dot on his chest just prior to shots ringing out.
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 e-sports 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.”
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.
“We are finding many people hiding in locked areas at The Landing. We ask you to stay calm, stay where you are hiding. SWAT is doing a methodical search inside The Landing. We will get to you. Please don’t come running out,” the sheriff’s office said via Twitter.
The sheriff’s office did not provide any other information.
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 spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
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