Sheriff: 3 Dead, 11 Wounded In Mass Shooting At Video Game Tournament In Jacksonville, Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBSNewYork/CNN/AP) -- A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament as it was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing two people and then fatally shooting himself in a rampage that wounded several others, authorities said.
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. Williams said the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot, adding final confirmation of the suspect's identity was pending as the FBI in Baltimore aided in the investigation.
Nine other people were wounded by gunfire and all were in stable condition Sunday evening after being taken to hospitals, Williams said. He added that two others were injured in the rush to flee the gunfire.
Katz was in Jacksonville for the "Madden NFL 19" video game tournament, authorities said. The games maker, EA Sports, lists a David Katz as a 2017 championship winner.
Williams said additional information would be released on the sheriff's Twitter account.
The competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said. A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire. Williams said people trampled each other in the panic while trying to get away.
"Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren't any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running," said Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
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."
EA Sports tweeted, saying "This is a horrible situation, and our deepest sympathies go out to all involved."
Thadys Gilder was at The Landing just after 1:30 p.m. He said people were running for their lives, or hiding where they could, CBS2's Reena Roy reported.
"I heard a lot of screams. People running this way that way all over to get away from the massacre," Gilder said. "Someone coming out saying 'I'm shot! I'm shot! I'm shot!"
On Sunday evening, the FBI said, its agents searched a family home of the man authorities believed was behind the attack.
Heavily armed agents, some in bulletproof vests and brandishing long guns, could be seen entering an upscale townhome complex near Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
An FBI spokesman, Dave Fitz, confirmed that agents had gone to the house of the man's father in Baltimore. He declined to release specifics, citing the ongoing investigation. T.J. Smith, chief spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, also said that agency was assisting law enforcement partners "with some information that has led authorities to Baltimore."
In Washington, 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 Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
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, but also warned reporters to stay away from the area.
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.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
