David Katz, a 24-year-old gamer from Baltimore, Maryland, was in Jacksonville for the tournament at GLHF Game Bar, in the back of a pizza restaurant. On Sunday, he brought a gun into the venue and opened fire, killing two people. Then he turned the gun on himself, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said. Police have not released a possible motive.
Katz used at least one handgun in the shooting, the sheriff said. Nine other people suffered gunshot wounds and two people were injured fleeing the area, Williams said. The victims were all in stable condition at local hospitals, the sheriff said.
The horror that unfolded was captured on an online stream of the event, posted the website Twitch. The game abruptly stopped after several shots were heard. People screamed. One person cried out, “Oh f**, what’d he shoot me with?”
Shortly after 1:30 p.m., 911 calls started pouring in about a shooting, according to Williams. Officers were on the scene within two minutes. Aleman said he huddled in the bathroom for 10 minutes and ran from the scene. “I’m still shocked, I can hardly talk,” he told CNN.
Katz went by the gaming naming “Bread” and previously won Madden tournaments in 2017, multiple gamers told CNN. In February 2017, the Buffalo Bills tweeted out a picture of him after he won the Madden 17 Bills Championship. “Congrats to David Katz, the Madden 17 Bills Championship winner! Thanks for following along, Bills fans,” the tweet read.
In an interview after the win with former Buffalos Bills player Steve Tasker, Katz talked about his prowess. “I think personally I’m one of the better players,” he said.
