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A gunman killed three people, including himself, and injured 11 during a video game tournament on Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida, authorities said.
Jacksonville County Sheriff Mike Williams identified the suspect as 24-year-old David Katz, of Baltimore.
Nine of the injured victims were struck by gunfire, while two more sustained other wounds, Williams said, adding that all of them were in stable condition. He said there could be other injured victims that they haven’t learned about yet.
Williams said that Katz was in Jacksonville for the competition, the Madden 19 Southeastern Qualifier Tournament, though he declined to discuss a possible motive.
Earlier, the sheriff warned the public to continue to stay away from the area.
“Don’t come downtown to spectate,” Williams said. “We don’t need that.”
Williams declined to provide a specific count of fatalities and injuries until later in the day, but law enforcement officials told local NBC News affiliate First Coast News that four people are dead and 11 are injured.
“We can’t stress enough to stay away. Many blocks away,” the sheriff’s department said in a tweet as the events were developing. Earlier, police had tweeted asking people to remain in hiding as SWAT searched the area.
Williams said at a 4:30 p.m. press conference that authorities had secured the scene and had several witnesses.
University of Florida Health said it had admitted six patients from the shooting, all but one — who was in serious condition — are in good condition. Three people, meanwhile, were admitted to the Jacksonville Memorial Hospital and are stable, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The shooting appears to have occurred inside a pizza restaurant that includes a bar dedicated to video games and other forms of gaming. The bar was in the middle of hosting the Madden 19 Southeastern Qualifier Tournament, which comes with a $5,000 prize. Madden 19 is the latest NFL football video game put out by sports game publisher EA Sports.