David Katz ID'd as Jacksonville Madden Shooter: Reports

Jack Phillips
8/26/2018
Updated:
8/26/2018

David Katz was identified as the suspect who shot up a Madden tournament in the Jacksonville Landing area on Aug. 26, according to the sheriff.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams told News4Jax that the shooter is David Katz, 24, of Baltimore. He appears to have acted alone, killing three and wounding more.

A number of photos and videos have been circulating on Twitter that purport to show Katz. On Twitter, users said his Madden name was “ravens2012champs” and “Ravenschamp,” apparently in reference to the Baltimore Ravens NFL team.

The Baltimore Sun reported that federal authorities have swarmed a home in Baltimore on Aug. 26 in connection with the shooting in Jacksonville, and Baltimore Police spokesman T.J. Smith told the paper that “we are assisting our partner law enforcement agencies with some information that has led authorities to Baltimore.”
A source told Fox News reporter Rick Leventhal that Katz was a “disgruntled gamer reacted to losing with violence” and shot up the Madden tournament.

Jacksonville sheriff’s officials have stated that the suspect in the shooting is dead.

David Katz was identified as the Jacksonville Landing shooter. (AP Photo/Laura Heald)
David Katz was identified as the Jacksonville Landing shooter. (AP Photo/Laura Heald)

Details on Shooting

Reuters reported that a gunman killed four people and wounded several others on Sunday when he opened fire at a video game tournament that was being streamed online from a restaurant on the Landing. Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said one white male suspect was dead at the scene. He declined to comment on what led to the third major mass shooting to hit Florida in the last two years.

The shooting was captured via a live stream of a game of Madden 19.

The bar was livestreaming the football video game competition when the gunfire started, according to video of the stream shared on social media. In the video, players can be seen reacting to the shots and cries can be heard before the footage cuts off.

“Worst day of my life,” gamer Drini Gjoka wrote on Twitter. “I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second.”

Gjoka added that he was shot in the thumb, describing himself as “literally so lucky.”

The Los Angeles Times said the shooter was a gamer who was competing in the tournament and lost. Citing messages from another player in the room, the Times said the gunman appeared to target several victims before killing himself. Reuters could not immediately confirm that account of events.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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