police say one suspect dead at the scene
shooting reportedly took place at online gaming tournament
Police reported “multiple fatalities’ in a mass shooting in
Jacksonville,
Florida on Sunday. One suspect was dead at the scene, the local sheriff’s office said, adding that it did not know if there was a second suspect and officers were “finding many people hiding in locked areas”.
The shooting reportedly took place at an online gaming tournament.
“Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing,” the Jacksonville sheriff’s office said on Twitter. “Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY.”
In response to user questions, the Twitter account said: “We can’t stress enough to stay away. Many blocks away.” The warning was for media too, the sheriff’s office said, adding: “It is for safety.”
The police then said: “Multiple fatalities at the scene, many transported. One suspect is dead at the scene, unknown at this time if we have a second suspect. Searches are being conducted.”
A further tweet said: “We are finding many people hiding in locked areas at the Landing. We ask you to stay calm, stay where you are hiding. Swat is doing a methodical search inside the Landing. We will get to you. Please don’t come running out.”
“If you are hiding in the Landing,” the sheriff’s office added, “call 911 so we can get to you.”
The Jacksonville Landing area contains restaurants and shops and is situated along the St Johns river.
A notice on the website of EA Sports, the video game company that distributes Madden NFL, stated: “This weekend, the first of four Madden NFL 19 Classic qualifier events will take place at the GLHF game bar in Jacksonville, Florida. The top two finishers at this event will earn a spot in the round of 16 at the Madden Classic main event in Las Vegas in October.”
An eSports team, comPlexity Gaming, said on Twitter one of its players “was grazed in the hand” but was “away from the scene and safe”.
A statement said: “Complexity is not one of the event organizers in Jacksonville. We are a professional gaming team that had a player at the event. Thankfully, our player is fine and only suffered a small injury.”
Vic Micolucci, a reporter for local station WJXT, told CNN there were at least 11 victims, of whom four were understood to be dead.
“Right now it is just everyone scrambling and trying to find out what is going on,” Micolucci said. “We don’t know if it’s one suspect or multiple shooters. I have been talking to the general manager of a restaurant in the complex who said they did not believe it was still an active shooting scene.”