Multiple people were killed after a shooting during a video game tournament held at a restaurant in Jacksonville, Fl., Sunday afternoon.
According to tweets from the official Twitter account of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office, one suspect was killed during the shooting.
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In a tweet Sunday, officials confirmed that an incident took place at the Jacksonville Landing, a waterfront dining, entertainment and shopping site, and urged people to stay far away from the area.
“Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
“We can’t stress enough to stay away. Many blocks away,” the tweet read.
Local media, citing police sources, said four people were killed and about 10 wounded. The sheriff’s office said several people were transported to hospital.
The business was livestreaming a tournament for a Madden football video game when several shots rang out, according to video of the stream shared on social media.
In the video, players can be seen reacting to the gunfire and cries can be heard before the footage cuts off.
The sheriff’s office said its deputies were finding many people hiding in locked areas at The Landing. It asked people hiding in the area to remain calm, call 911 and avoid fleeing.
Rapper Pusha T is sending “good vibes” to all the victims of Sunday’s shooting, but gave a special shout-out to Timothy Anselimo (who goes by the name of Olarry or Larry Legend) who was shot three times.
“My prayers go out to the all the victims of the shooting at the Madden event in Jacksonville,” Pusha wrote. “We definitely aren’t going to let this tragedy ruin our love for gaming.”
He added, “Olarry, wishing you a speedy recovery… you sent good vibes my way a few days ago and it’s now my turn to send them back.”
On Monday, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson shared a letter to the gaming community decrying the “horrific and senseless act of violence” that took place. You can read his statement in its entirety below:
To Our Players and the Gaming Community,
I wanted to share some thoughts about the horrific and senseless act of violence that occurred in Jacksonville at the Madden competitive gaming event. I know many of us, myself included, are filled with shock and grief. Our teams have been working non-stop to do what we can to respond to this terrible situation.
First and foremost, it is an unthinkable tragedy that Taylor Robertson and Elijah Clayton, two of our top Madden competitors, lost their lives in this way. They were respected, positive and skilled competitors, the epitome of the players and personalities at the heart of our community. Their love of competition was evident through their participation in our events over the past few years. We are committed to supporting Taylor and Elijah’s families through this difficult time, and we send our deepest sympathies to their loved ones, to those injured yesterday, and everyone affected.
The event was a qualifying tournament for the Madden Classic, our first Madden EA Major competition of this season. While these qualifying events are operated independently by partners, we work with them to ensure competitive integrity and to gather feedback from players. We have made a decision to cancel our three remaining Madden Classic qualifier events while we run a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators. We will work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security at all of our competitive gaming events.
We’ve all been deeply affected by what took place in Jacksonville. This is the first time we’ve had to confront something like this as an organization, and I believe the first time our gaming community has dealt with a tragedy of this nature. Please take time to support each other through this challenging time.
—With files from Reuters
