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Monday, April 15, 2024 | Back issues
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Sheriff IDs Men Killed at Jacksonville Gaming Tournament

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams on Monday identified the victims of the weekend shooting rampage that left two men and the shooter dead at a video game tournament.

(CN) - Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams on Monday identified the victims of the weekend shooting rampage that left two men and the shooter dead at a video game tournament.

Williams identified the victims as 22-year-old Elijah Clayton of Woodland Hills, California, and 28-year-old Taylor Robertson of Giles, West Virginia.

He also said the gunman, 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore, Maryland, specifically targeted fellow gamers attending the tournament before killing himself. Katz's motive remains unknown.

According to the sheriff's office, there were 13 victims in total, including 10 who were wounded by Katz, and an additional victim treated for other injuries. All are expected to make full recoveries.

Williams credited the "outstanding work" of medical and rescue personal for treating the victims. "As bad as this is, it could have been much worse," he said.

"Video surveillance footage from inside the restaurant shows that this was a single shooter incident and the suspect took his own life after shooting the victims," the sheriff said.

The sheriff's office said Katz had two guns with and carried extra ammunition to the scene, but appears to have only used one of his firearms. He "clearly targeted other gamers," Williams said, noting that he walked past other patrons in the building before opening hire in the gaming room.

Williams said Katz legally bought the handguns, a 9 mm and a .45-caliber, in Baltimore in the past two weeks. One gun did have an aftermarket laser sight attached to it, the sheriff said.

The Associated Press is reporting that Katz had previously been hospitalized for mental illness, citing court records in his home state of Maryland.

Divorce filings from the gunman's parents say that as an adolescent he was twice hospitalized in psychiatric facilities and that he was prescribed antipsychotic and antidepressant medications.

The court records show Katz's parents disagreed on how to care for their troubled son, with his father claiming his estranged wife was exaggerating symptoms of mental illness as part of their long and bitter custody battle, the AP said. The couple divorced in 2007.

After the victims' names were released, relatives of Clayton read a statement to reporters in Jacksonville. A cousin, Brandi Pettijohn, said the family was "devastated by yet another senseless act of gun violence." She said Clayton "did not believe in violence."

"He never even had a fistfight."

Pettijohn said Clayton made a good living playing in video game tournaments and was saving money for college.

Categories / Criminal, Law, National, Sports, Technology

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