A national gaming tournament in which gamers come to compete on the video game Madden was not a victory this year, but a tragedy. On Sunday, August 26th, two young men were killed in this competition in Jacksonville, Florida. Taylor Robertson, 27, and Eli Clayton, 22, were “both great competitors and well-loved members of the Madden community.”
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the senseless violence in Jacksonville and the tragic deaths of Dot City Gaming team member, Taylor “SpotMePlzzz” Robertson, and Eli “True” Clayton,” the sponsor said in a tweet.
“Still doesn’t feel real.,” said another tweet posted by Tony Montagnino, who was shot twice, “Saw a lot of things today I wish I hadn’t seen. But I also saw a community of people rally around each other and a massive amount of support from friends and family to check on everyone.”
The gaming community was extremely devastated by this violent outbreak and have been constantly posting on twitter supporting families and friends of the ones who were so affected by this disastrous attack.
Along with Eli Clayton and Taylor Robertson, gunman David Katz also attended the gaming tournament. 24-year-old Katz, who lives in Baltimore, used at least one handgun in the shooting, according to Jacksonville police. After shots were fired and nine people were injured, the gunman then turned the gun on himself.
David was just a regular gamer just like any other; he even won the Madden 17 Bills Championship. So far we only know David’s background and police have also searched his home, but nothing out of the ordinary was found; the police have yet to release the possible motive for the shooting, although they have determined that he targeted gamers specifically, and not just patrons of the restaurant.
