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Authorities have confirmed that a competitor at the Madden Classic series qualifying tournament in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday afternoon shot dead two participants before taking his own life.
The suspect has been identified as David Katz, 24, a resident of Baltimore, while the two victims were named as Elijah Clayton, 22, of Woodland Hills and Taylor Robertson, 28, of Giles. 10 other people were wounded in the shooting.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday evening (via Polygon), Sheriff Mike Williams of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, confirmed that Katz was indeed a competitor at the tournament and fatally shot himself after killing both Clayton and Robertson.
The Madden tournament took place at the GLHF Game Bar at Jacksonville Landing, with the shooting itself occurring at next door's Chicago Pizza.
Sheriff Williams revealed that Katz was in possession of two handguns and additional ammunition when the shooting happened. Both weapons were purchased legally from a licensed dealer in Baltimore, although authorities observed that only one of the handguns appears to have been fired during the incident.
While Katz carried out the shooting after being eliminated from the qualifying session, authorities have not yet ascertained a motive. The suspect is reported to have 'clearly targeted other gamers' during the incident, where he moved past patrons at the restaurant in order to reach the Madden players at the back of the venue.
Katz had previously represented the Buffalo Bills in the Madden NFL 17 competitive year, where he emerged as club champion. The Associated Press also reported that he had a history of mental illness, having been hospitalized twice during his years as a teenager.
EA Sports, who sponsored the tournament, issued the following statement to Twitter on Sunday night.
— Electronic Arts (@EA) August 27, 2018
It then followed up with another statement yesterday afternoon.
— Electronic Arts (@EA) August 27, 2018
