Tragedy strikes Madden tournament in Florida as gunman opens fire and kills 3 players, injures 13
This is just heartbreaking.
Tragic and heartbreaking, two words that are apt descriptions for what happened yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida. A mass shooting incident happened at a Madden NFL 19 tournament in GLHF Game Bar at Jacksonville, with a lone gunman injuring 13 and killing 3 people (including himself).
The two men who the gunman shot down were Madden NFL players Eli “True” Clayton and Taylor “SpotMePlzzz” Robertson (pictured above).
Here is Madden NFL 19 publisher EA’s official statement on the incident:
— Electronic Arts (@EA) August 27, 2018
The shooter was identified as 24-year old David “Bread” Katz, who himself was a Madden NFL player. Katz participated in the tournament, but was eliminated. After his tournament loss, Katz opened fire on other participants while a game was still being played and livestreamed. Katz then took his own life before authorities were able to respond.
Below is footage from the stream during the shooting (warning: the video contains disturbing content):
Twitch livestream of Madden NFL tournament qualifier in Jacksonville broadcasts mass shooting, horrific aftermath https://t.co/kKcpNuGFRi pic.twitter.com/98FwkWMfOp
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) August 26, 2018
Three were killed in total during the shooting, with a further 13 being injured. Nine of the thirteen were treated for gunshot wounds, but all are now in stable condition.
The Madden NFL 19 tournament was a qualifier for the Madden Classic Finals which will be held in Las Vegas this October. The Classic Finals has a prizepool of USD 165,000, while the qualifier had a top prize of USD 25,000.