The Jacksonville Sheriff's Department called the incident a "mass shooting" in a tweet, noting in a news conference that the shooter, a white male, was alone and was confirmed dead.
The Jacksonville Sheriff announced later that three people were found dead at the scene of the shooting, including the suspect. There were also 9 people wounded. The suspect was identified by the police as a 24-year old David Katz from Baltimore. The police added that the shooter used at least one handgun.
The latest information says that three have been killed and 9 injured, one in serious condition, according to doctors at a Jacksonville hospital emergency room.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office earlier said that "there are inaccurate numbers being distributed by local and national media."
One of the witnesses, Javaris Long, told the Tampa Bay Times that he saw a "nerdy” man who got mad because he lost, so he went to his car, got his gun, came back and “started blasting everybody.” On a video posted to YouTube from a livestream of the event, 12 gunshots were heard. Seconds before, a small red dot of what could be a laser gun sight can be seen on the chest of a player on the right.
Another gamer, 2017 Madden Bowl Champion DUBBY, tweeted that a bullet hit his head.
"Please everyone keep your thoughts and prayers for my brothers," tweeted Shay Kivlen, the 2018 Madden NDL champion. "These guys are my family man. This hurts so much. Please pray."
Sujeil Lopez, the mother of one of the injured gamers, told the New York Times that her son, Larry, was delivered to a hospital with three gunshot wounds. "He was shot three times, once on the nipple, once on his hand and somewhere else," Lopez told the Times. Two days earlier Larry posted a video of The GLHF GameBar, detailing the location of the multiplayer tournament.
Steven “Steveyj” Javaruski, a gamer competing in the tournament, told the Los Angeles Times that the shooter was one of the participants, who “targeted a few people” after losing a game. Steven said that after 12 gunshots the shooter killed himself.
The Madden NFL Twitter community recognized at least two of the victims, one identified as Elijah Clayton (@true_818) who was well known among the players. Another victim was identified as 2016 Madden Classic champion Taylor Robertson (@spotmeplzz)
EA Games, which hosted the tournament, offered condolences via their official Twitter account:
The company was criticized by many enraged users online for not providing any form of security at their cybersport tournaments:
READ MORE: Deadly Jacksonville Shooting Caught on Tape
The Jacksonville Police Department, at 7:15, updated its information, revealing that the single suspect's identity is David Katz. The police didn't reveal motives in the interests of investigation, but the Fox News sources saidthat Katz "reacted to losing with violence."
Katz was suspected to be the shooter even before the police announcement. The 2017 Buffalo Bills Madden Club Champion used the nicknames "Bread", "MrSlicedBread", "RavensChamp" and "Ravens2012Champ."
The Sheriff's Office confirmed that 9 people were delivered to the hospital, with 7 having gun wounds. The police are yet to confirm the identities of two fatal victims and is looking for more possible video footages of the shootings.