After yesterday’s tragic shooting in Florida, new details about the gunman have arisen. One of the key points is that they were a competitor in the qualifier, and had lost prior to the shooting.
The shooter, who has been identified, but we will not name, was a player who had won Madden tournaments throughout 2017. While competing in the qualifier, the shooter had lost a game and was reported as being angry. “He was kinda upset about that, so I’m guessing that had something else to do with it, too,” said Alexander Madunic, one of the survivors of the shooting. While this incident itself might not have been the sole reason why the gunman decided to open fire, it was a factor in his decision to do so.
While lives were still lost in the event, the death toll from the incident has been reduced from four to three, with one of those death being the shooter. The other two victims, while their names have not been officially released, are believed to have been Eli ‘trueboy’ Clayton, and Madden Classic 2017 winner Taylor ‘SpotMePlzzz’ Robertson. Both were passionate Madden players, and will be dearly missed by their families, the Madden community, as well as gamers in general. Dash, one of the personalities currently hosting the League Quarterfinals, even had a moment to give his condolences to those affected by the tragedy.
CompLexity Gaming told CNN that he feels that “the shooting may make the growing eSports industry reconsider security at events.” Given how big esports events have been getting, this might be the unfortunate future that events have to look forward to. Not necessarily because security will be increased, but that people’s sense of security at these events have been taken away at events that are supposed to bring people together and make them feel united under a single interest.
There is one positive thing to report on at least. The bar that hosted the qualifier event, the GLHF Game Bar, has been hosting Jacksonville-based streamer, DottyH4ck for over a day now, and all of the donations that have been accumulated now up until tomorrow will be donated to the victims’ families.