The two victims killed at a “Madden NFL 19” tournament have been identified as the winner of last year’s Madden Classic competition and a former high school football player who won tens of thousands of dollars playing his favorite video game.
Taylor Robertson, a 24-year-old from Ballard, West Virginia, and Eli Clayton, a 21-year-old from Woodland Hills, California, were both shot and killed by a gunman in Jacksonville, Florida, at a Madden NFL 19 qualifier event.
Robertson was identified by Dot City Gaming, the professional esports team of which he was a member. The team mourned both victims of Sunday’s shooting.
“They were great competitors and well-loved members of the Madden community,” the team tweeted. “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to their families, loved ones, and all of those affected by this tragedy.”
Robertson, known by his gaming handle “SpotMePlzzz,” won $80,500 over the course of his professional gaming career, according to his EASports.com profile. He took home the Madden Classic championship in 2016.
Taylor Robertson is shown in a Facebook photo.
Clayton was a former high school football player who was known as “one of the perennial top competitors in the scene,” according to his profile on EASports.com. He won $51,000 in tournaments in his gaming career.
Clayton, who played under the name “TrueBoy,” graduated from Calabasas High School in 2014. In a statement, the school said the “entire community is shocked and saddened by this loss.”
His former high football team, the Calabasas Coyotes, mourned him on Twitter. “We send our love, condolences, and deepest sense of sorrow to Elijah’s Family and Friends,” the team said.
Eli Clayton is interviewed by EA Sports.
EA Sports
The suspected gunman was identified as David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, Maryland. Katz used a single handgun to carry out the shooting and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said. Before the shooting, he had been defeated in the tournament.
Nine others were wounded by gunfire and two others were injured as they fled the shooting, police said. Players were competing for a chance to play in this year’s Madden Classic in Las Vegas.
When the shots first rang out, witnesses said they thought it was a firecracker or balloons popping. Then panic set in and people were trampled rushing for the exits.
“If you would have told me that I was going to get shot playing a video game, I would have called you a liar,” Tony Montagnino, who competed in the event, told “CBS This Morning.”
EA Sports, the makers of the Madden video game series, expressed condolences and called the shooting “a senseless act of violence that we strongly condemn.” The NFL said it is “shocked and deeply saddened.” All nine of those wounded in the shooting are in stable condition.
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