The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office frantically warned people to keep out of the area in a string of tweets chronicling the early minutes of the mayhem.
Video footage from last year shows the Jacksonville shooting suspect gaming it up and talking trash at a Bills-sponsored Madden tournament in Buffalo — which he managed to win, despite being a 7th seed.
“I don’t think of myself as a 7th seed,” boasted David Katz aka “Bread” following a 41-7 win over a No. 2 seed.“I think personally, I’m one of the better players — and I like to let my game prove that,” he said.
Katz, 24, allegedly went on a shooting rampage at a Madden tournament in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday after losing a match.
A portion of the mid-day mayhem, which left four people dead and several others injured, was captured on live video and later posted to YouTube. The footage is similar to what was shot in Buffalo last year.

Game tournament shooting victim: A witness said David Katz lost an intense game, snapped, and started shooting, killing Taylor Robertson in his rage

Eli Clayton is reported to be the second person killed in Katz’s suicidal shooting rampage 

In that tournament, Katz traveled up from his home in Columbia, Maryland to compete for a chance to play in the Madden Club Series Championship in Burbank, California. He wound up winning the Bills Madden Club round, but later lost in the quarterfinals of the Cali tourney.
“I understand the game really well,” Katz bragged before playing the Buffalo tournament’s 2 seed.
“My opponent probably should’ve called his timeouts,” he said confidently after winning. “I took advantage that he didn’t.”
Asked if he was at all nervous, Katz said: “Honestly, I felt like I had the ball most of the game…I wasn’t really doing too much on defense.”
The young man took his own life on Sunday not long after his rampage, cops said.
Gamers told WJAX-TV that Katz was defeated by two different players during the two-day Jacksonville tournament.
“He’s a well-known competitor,” explained one gamer, who claimed to have beaten Katz on Saturday.
“[He was here] all weekend,” the man said. “He had shades on, he didn’t speak to anybody. Even after we played…I went to shake his hand and just tell him good game and he just looked at me. He didn’t say anything.”
Katz reportedly wore the same exact outfit during both days of the tournament.

“Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area,” read the first tweet at 2:13 p.m, roughly 45 minutes after initial social media reports of the shoot-up. “The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY.”
As cops set up a three-block perimeter around the riverfront mall and SWAT teams methodically swept through the blood-drenched gaming bar and pizzeria, officials urged terrified survivors to call 911 and stay hunkered down.
“We will get to you,” another tweet read. “Please don’t come running out.”
Once responders confirmed that the shooter was dead, they turned to triaging the more than one dozen victims, whom officials didn’t immediately name.
At least six victims were hospitalized, with one in stable condition and the other five stable, authorities said. They were between 20 and 35 years old.

Warning: Disturbing audio
It was unclear whether they included the two competitors seen in the clip that captured the start of the hellish assault: Wesley “Joe Rice” Gittens and Eli “Trueboy” Clayton, who was the target of the red laser dot.
At least two other gamers were reported among the wounded victims.
“The tourney just got shot up. I’m leaving [sic] and never coming back,” tweeted 19-year-old competitor Drini “Young Drini” Gjoka. “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb.
“Worst day of my life,” he added.
Fellow competitor Timothy “Olarry” Anselimo was also among the injured, according to his mother.
“My son was shot 3 times,” tweeted Sujeil Lopez. “Please keep him in your prayers.”
Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of CompLexity Gaming, for whom Young Drini plays, told CNN, “To have someone walk into an event like this that’s all about good sportsmanship and teamwork and just good vibes, and do something like this, it’s heartbreaking.”
“I think that the eSports industry as a whole is going to have to step back and take a look at further strengthening our security,” Lake said.
The sanctioned tournament in this year’s installment of the popular Madden NFL video game franchise offered $5,000 in prizes, with the top two finishers qualifying for spots in the Madden Classic Live Finals in Las Vegas.
“Today, this evening, and tonight, Jacksonville is mourning,” Mayor Lenny Curry said. “Pray for Jacksonville as we deal with this senseless tragedy.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump had been briefed on the shooting, but no comment was immediately released by the White House.