An esports competition in Jacksonville, Fla. That was being streamed live on Twitch.tv was the target of a mass shooting Sunday afternoon, with multiple people reported dead.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office confirmed on Twitter that a mass shooting with “many fatalities reported” had taken place at the Jacksonville Landing, a shopping complex along the St. John’s Rivier. The Sheriff’s office warned both the public and news media to “stay away. Many blocks away” from the area. By 2:53 p.m. ET, the office tweeted one suspect was dead at the scene and that searches were being conducted in case there was an additional suspect.
By 4:30 p.m. ET, Sheriff Mike Williams announced during a media update that his department had “no outstanding suspects” left in the incident. Authorities described the sole suspect as a white male, and confirmed that he was deceased, though they did not say what the motive behind the shooting was. The Sheriff’s department will continue interviewing witnesses and provide updates later Sunday.
Williams did not specify the number of victims, but local news station WJXT reported that the shooting left four dead with more injured, according to its sources.
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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 during a Madden Championship Series event, a qualifying tournament for the football simulator Madden 19, reportedly held at the GLHF Game Bar. Electronic Arts, publishers of Madden 19, say they are working with authorities to investigate the shooting.
One competitor, Drini Gjoka of the Complexity Gaming esports group, reported being grazed by a bullet during the incident, but escaping safely.
I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb
— Drini (@Drini) August 26, 2018
I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second
— Drini (@Drini) August 26, 2018
Video capturing the sounds of the start of the shooting was shared from Twitch by several social media users. [Warning: The audio in the previous link is highly disturbing.]
