Shooting at a Jacksonville, Florida esports event leaves four dead

Chaos erupted at an esports tournament in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday when a mass shooting ended with multiple fatalities and many more injured.

Word of the shooting first emerged on Twitch, from a live feed of the Madden NFL 19 Classic qualifier at Jacksonville’s GLHF GameBar. In the disturbing audio-only account, rapid bursts of gunfire are heard multiple times over the shouts of attendees.

As of Sunday afternoon, four are dead and “several others” are injured, according to a local report from News 4 Jacksonville. Police also say that one suspect is dead, though the shooter hasn’t yet been identified.

Steven “SteveyJ” Javaruski, a pro Madden player who was participating in the event and witnessed the shooting, told the Los Angeles Times that the shooter was a competitor who had lost. He added that he witnessed a number of deaths, including the shooter, who he said killed himself. (Mashable has not been able to confirm these details independently.)

Drini Gjoka, another tournament competitor, posted on Twitter that he was grazed by a bullet.

Reached for comment, Madden publisher Electronic Arts shared the following statement with Mashable: “We are aware of an incident at a sanctioned Madden Championship Series competition in Jacksonville. We are working with authorities to gather facts at this stage. This is a horrible situation, and our deepest sympathies go out to all involved.”

Local news notes that Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams will be addressing the situation in a press conference later on Sunday. We’ll update this story as more details emerge.