'Everyone Was Running For Their Lives'; Gunman Kills 2 At Video Game Competition
JACKSONVILLE Fla. (CBS SF/AP) -- Marquis Williams and a friend had come to Jacksonville Sunday to play in a video game competition, but they soon found themselves running for their lives.
Williams and Taylor Poindexter were among the survivors after a gunman opened fire at an online video game tournament that was being live-streamed from a Florida mall.
"Everyone was running for their lives," Williams told reporters of the chaotic scene while the gunman was firing into the crowded room. "People were being trampled. People were hiding. Everyone was screaming."
He said the saw the gunman 'backing out of the room."
"I saw the back of his head, he was backing out of the room where he was shooting," Williams said. "We heard the first round and then we heard 2-3-4 more."
On Sunday, Electronic Arts -- the creator of the Madden video game -- issued a statement condemning the attack.
"The tragic situation that occurred Sunday in Jacksonville was a senseless act of violence that we strongly condemn. Our most heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the victims whose lives were taken today and those who were injured. All of us at Electronic Arts are devastated by this horrific event, and we also join the community in thanking the first responders who were quickly on the scene."
"Our focus right now is on those affected, and supporting law enforcement as they continue their investigation into this crime," the statement continued.
Authorities said the gunman killed two people and then fatally shot himself in an attack that sent several others to hospitals.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said authorities believe 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore carried out the attack using at least one handgun at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River. The competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Nine other people were wounded by gunfire and all were in stable condition Sunday evening, Williams said. He added that two others were injured in the chaos as people sought to flee the gunfire.
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.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city's downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Donald Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
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