August 27, 2018 Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has named the suspect in yesterday’s mass shooting at a Madden NFL qualifier event.
Sheriff Mike Williams says the shooter was David Katz of Baltimore, a 24-year-old white male who was a competitor at the event. Williams also confirmed the number of victims stands at 14 in total, with three fatalities including Katz, who shot himself. Eleven others were injured and transported to local hospitals, nine with gunshot wounds, including two who made it to hospitals themselves.
Katz had opened fire on Sunday afternoon at the Madden NFL qualifiers, held at the GLHF Game Bar at the Jacksonville Landing shopping complex in Jacksonville, Florida. The shooting occurred while the event was being livestreamed on Twitch, with multiple gunshots and screams clearly audible during the broadcast.
Early reports by local reporter Vic Micolucci (here via the Daily Beast) and CNN’s Steve Brusk suggested that there were four fatalities, but police have since confirmed the final number is three. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) were among the first federal authorities to respond, according to CNN, with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s department enforcing an immediate lockdown on the area and asking locals to stay away.
The very first reports of the shooting came on social media from streamers who were at the event (via Polygon), including top flight competitor Drini Gjoka, who says a bullet struck his thumb, and Chris ‘Dubby’ McFarland, who said he was grazed in the head.
I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb
— Drini Gjoka (@YoungDrini) August 26, 2018
They took me to the hospital. Bullet grazed my head. I feel fine, just a scratch on my head. Traumatized and devastated.
— DUBBY (@DubDotDUBBY) August 26, 2018
The event unfolded in less than an hour, with Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s first tweet warning of the shooting coming roughly 40 minutes before they announced that one suspect – who would later prove to be the sole shooter – was dead at the scene.
One suspect is dead at the scene, unknown at this time if we have a second suspect. Searches are being conducted. https://t.co/qBJvkaO7xT
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) August 26, 2018