madden tournament getting shot up on twitch pic.twitter.com/3Jk8QmZkiy
— ANAKRON (@Anakron199X) August 26, 2018
A gunman opened fire at a video game tournament in Florida on Sunday afternoon. The assailant is now believed to have been killed.
Initial reports categorized the violence as a “mass shooting” that left at least four people dead and several others injured. As many as fifteen individuals were shot amidst the flurry of gunfire at the “Madden NFL ’19” tournament in Jacksonville.
Various participants recorded the massacre as it was in progress and posted audio and video files to social media. The above footage is graphic and viewer discretion is heavily advised. (Capturing the incident as it occurred was facilitated by the fact that the tournament itself was livestreamed via the popular cooperative streaming service, Twitch.)
According to one witness, who spoke with Fox News about the shooting, a losing member of the tournament “went crazy and started shooting up the room.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed that at least one suspect died at the scene. In a Twitter post, the office noted:
One suspect is dead at the scene, unknown at this time if we have a second suspect. Searches are being conducted.
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
The suspect’s identity is currently unknown and no further information about the alleged shooter has been released as of this writing.
Another tweet from the sheriff’s office advised those still hiding inside the shopping center to wait patiently so they they can be safely escorted off the premises:
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. #TheLandingMassShooting https://t.co/qBJvkaO7xT
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) August 26, 2018
The shooting occurred at the GLHF Game Bar in the Jacksonville Landing shopping complex during a qualifying event for the Madden 2019 tournament. A press conference is scheduled for 4:30.
This story is developing.
[image via screengrab/ANAKRON]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
Editor’s note: this article was amended after publication to reflect further developments.
