The Madden tournament shooter was a gamer who opened fire after losing in the competition, killing two people before turning the gun on himself. Authorities identified the shooter as 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore, Maryland. Now, new details are emerging about the gunman.
David Katz was competing in the tournament on Sunday and lost, Madden tournament competitor Steven “Steveyj” Javaruski told the LA Times. Katz “targeted a few people,” Javaruski said.
“The single suspect in this case is a white male,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told media, adding that authorities “believe the suspect to be 24-year-old David Katz from Baltimore, Maryland.”
Katz was described as “nerdy” and “disgruntled” and reportedly became enraged when he lost in the tournament. Shooting witness Javaris Long told the Tampa Bay Times that Katz he went to his car, got his gun, came back and “started blasting everybody.”
Two people were killed in the shooting, in addition to Katz, police said. At least nine others were wounded by gunfire. Katz is believed to have used a handgun in the attack. Police are asking anyone with information about Katz to come forward, but here are a few things we already know about Katz:
Who was David Katz?
-Katz was 24 years old and lived in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore, Maryland and previously attended the University of Maryland where he studied environmental science and technology.
-Katz was in Jacksonville, Florida specifically for the Madden 19 tournament.
-Katz’s father, Richard Katz, works for NASA as an engineer in the Instruments Electronics Development Branch.
-Katz went by the gaming name “Bread” and had won Madden tournaments in 2017. In February 2017, the Buffalo Bills tweeted out a photo of Katz after he won the Madden 17 Bills Championship, CNN reported. “Congrats to David Katz, the Madden 17 Bills Championship winner! Thanks for following along, Bills fans,” the tweet said.
-Katz once told former Buffalo Bills player Steve Tasker, “I think personally I’m one of the better players.”
Outrage in gaming community after David Katz opens fire at Madden tournament
So the shooter was a losing participant in the Madden tourney. Obviously a loser in more ways than one. Coward took his own life too.
— Cougar (@XXLGaming) August 26, 2018
The shooter was mad he lost. Clearly mentally ill. Madden didn’t encourage him to kill, it was his inner evil.
— Brandon Fee (@BrandoDanko) August 26, 2018
The world we live in is a dark dark place. People can’t even play in a madden tournament without being shot at. A MADDEN TOURNAMENT. We have a serious mental health problem. the shooter lost in the tourney, so he shot it up. Despicable.
— dominic (@DominicLavoie18) August 26, 2018
People trying to claim the shooter wasn’t in the madden tournament because gamers aren’t killers? Where you been for the last 10 years? They send death threats and swat people. It was only a matter of time till those toxic assholes did a mass shooting #TheLandingMassShooting pic.twitter.com/nAFeSj7EOJ
— Rowan Braddock (@RowanBraddock) August 26, 2018
