A gunman who opened fire at an online video game tournament after losing a match, killing two people then shooting himself, had bragged about being ‘one of the better players’ at last year’s tournament.
David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, carried out the attack on Sunday using at least one handgun at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St Johns River in Florida, authorities said.
Katz – also known as ‘Bread’ – was in Jacksonville for the Madden NFL 19 video game tournament that was being held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria.
About 150 gamers compete in the competition for a $5,000 prize, with the winner is set to go on to a finals tournament in Las Vegas with a $125,000 prize.
Now, chilling footage has emerged showing Katz speaking after winning a chance to play in the Madden Club Series Championship in Burbank, California, in February 2017.
David Katz bragged about being ‘one of the better players’ in an interview after a video game tournament last year (pictured)
After defeating the number two seed 41-7 in the Bills Madden Club Round in Buffalo, New York, he told a reporter: ‘I don’t think of myself as a 7th seed.
‘I think personally, I’m one of the better players – and I like to let my game prove that.’
He added: ‘I understand the game really well. My opponent probably should’ve called his timeouts… I took advantage that he didn’t.’
According to the New York Post, he won $10,000 at the Buffalo Bills Madden Club tournament, but lost in the quarter-finals in California.
When asked if he was nervous during the game in Buffalo, he added: ‘Honestly, I felt like I had the ball most of the game. I wasn’t really doing too much on defense.’
Katz spoke after defeating the number two seed 41-7 in the Bills Madden Club Round in Buffalo
‘I think personally, I’m one of the better players – and I like to let my game prove that,’ he said
Katz had been defeated by two players during the two-day tournament in Jacksonville, gamers told WJAX-TV.
One gamer, who claimed to have defeated Katz the day before the shooting, described him as a ‘well-known competitor.’
He added: ‘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.’
One witness told WJAX that Katz snapped and started shooting after losing an intense game.
He had been introduced by announcers as someone who ‘keeps to himself.’
‘You are not going to see much emotion. He’s not here to make friends,’ the announcer said, according to the Post.
Like in Buffalo, viewers in Jacksonville could watch the games online and see the players.
Katz – whose gamer tag was ‘Bread’ – bragged in a video interview after defeating the number two seed of the tournament last year
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began on Sunday, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said.
A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Sheriff Williams said the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s office said 11 other people were wounded by gunfire and at least two others were injured while fleeing the scene of Sunday’s shooting.
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire.
Mr Williams said people trampled each other in the panic while trying to get away.
‘Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running,’ said Mr Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
Katz was defeated by two players during the two-day tournament in Jacksonville, gamers said
A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out
Jason Lake, the founder and chief executive of compLexity, a company that owns professional e-sports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb.
Gjoka tweeted: ‘The tourney just got shot up. I’m leaving and never coming back.’
Then he added: ‘I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.’
The sheriff’s office used Twitter and Facebook immediately after the shooting to warn people to stay far away and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911.
Police also barricaded a three-block radius around the shopping centre. Officers and Coast Guard boats patrolled the nearby river.
Many ambulances could be seen in the area, but the shopping centre area appeared empty of all but law enforcement. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river.
Taylor Poindexter speaks to reporters after witnessing a gunman open fire on gamers
On Sunday evening, the FBI said its agents searched a family home of the man authorities believed was behind the attack.
Heavily armed agents, some in bulletproof vests and brandishing long guns, could be seen entering an upscale townhome complex near Baltimore’s Inner Harbour.
An FBI spokesman, Dave Fitz, confirmed that agents had gone to the house of the man’s father in Baltimore.
He declined to release specifics, citing the ongoing investigation.
TJ Smith, chief spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, also said that the agency was assisting law enforcement partners ‘with some information that has led authorities to Baltimore’.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city’s downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.