Authorities in Jacksonville, Fla., have identified a Baltimore man as the perpetrator of a mass shooting Sunday during a video game tournament.
“The single suspect in this case is a white male,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference Sunday night. “We believe the suspect to be 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore, Maryland.”
Katz is believed to have opened fire during a “Madden 19” qualifying tournament at a Chicago Pizza around 1:30 p.m. He killed two people and left 11 others wounded before killing himself.
Here’s what we know about Katz:
» No motive is known. The Los Angeles Times reported that Katz had been eliminated from the tournament before he began his rampage.
» Local FBI and ATF officials are assisting the Jacksonville sheriff’s office with the investigation. They were a home tied to Katz in the 1200 block of Harbor Island Walk near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on Sunday night.
» Katz was a 2011 graduate of Hammond High School in Howard County. He also attended the University of Maryland previously, but was not a enrolled this semester, university President Wallace Loh said. He enrolled beginning in September 2014, and majored in environmental science and technology, a university spokeswoman said. He did not live on campus.
» People in the online gaming community said Katz had played under the game tag “RavensChamp” and “Bread.”
» Katz had previously won several tournaments and boasted of his prowess in an interview posted to YouTube.
» In a video circulating social media, an announcer is heard introducing Katz by commenting on his intense focus and standoffish attitude. “David Katz keeps to himself. He’s a man of business. … He’s not here to make friends.”
» Authorities say they’ve found Katz’s car, and that they have video of the incident.
» Katz is believed to have stayed in the Jacksonville area the night before the shooting, possibly at a hotel.
» He used at least one handgun to commit the shooting.
» Filings from Katz’s parents’ divorce widely discussed his emotional and socially struggles, as well as his troubles in school. The documents note a hospitalization at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson for psychiatric treatment.
