Heading to school, work, or an event, the last thing you want to think about is if you are going to make it home safely.
We have come into an era where it is not irrational to have these taunting worries.
In the wake of the multiple school shootings and other mass shootings we have seen in the past year, it shows that any public event could have a devastating outcome.
A Madden NFL 19 video game event in Florida ended in tragedy as one gamer unsuspectingly turned violent.
Fox News reported:
“A shooting Sunday during a gaming event at a popular shopping center in Jacksonville, Fla., killed two people and wounded several others before the gunman killed himself, investigators confirmed.”
At about one in the afternoon The Jacksonville Landing went under gunfire, frightening all those at the Madden NFL Championship Series, as well as, nearby shoppers.
The Jacksonville Landing area along the St. Johns River is a loved local hotspot for shopping, dining, and waterfront events. However, that may change after recent developments.
Sheriff Mike Williams of Jacksonville told viewers at a news conference that video surveillance caught shooter David Katz, 24, of Baltimore right before he opened fire in the gaming area.
Katz walked out of the tournament room past people eating at a pizza place, and then returned to the tournament room where he used a handgun to begin firing shots at the gamers.
The horrifying incident took the lives of two innocent victims, and wounded 9 more, Sheriff Williams explained at the news conference the night of the shooting.
While a motive is not completely clear at this point in the investigation, it is being viewed as a criminal act, not an act of terrorism, according to Fox News.
It does seem apparent that Katz was targeting other gamers, according to Fox News. Katz was the former reigning champion for the Madden NFL game, but passed the torch to Drini Gjoka.
Twitter was on fire with updates and fears of the shooting, some of which came from Gjoka himself who was injured in Katz’s rage.
Gjoka tweeted after being shot in the thumb, “The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng [sic] and never coming back,”, and “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.”
I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb
— Drini Gjoka (@YoungDrini) August 26, 2018
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Gunshot victims were taken to Memorial Hospital and to the university hospital in Jacksonville.
The victims were between the ages of 20 and 35, and all those taken to the hospital for gunshot wounds are expected to recover
A live video game platform called Twitch caught some of the chaos following the initial shots fired, as many gamers were live streaming the tournament.
Katz was carrying two firearms that he legally obtained in Baltimore, but only used one to fire on tournament contenders before fatally turning the gun on himself, according to Fox News.
The Jacksonville SWAT team arrived on the scene and did a sweep of the whole landing area where they found many scared individuals hiding in locked areas.
“We ask you to stay calm, stay where you are hiding. SWAT is doing a methodical search inside The Landing,” police said, according to Fox News.
Further explaining “We will get to you. Please don’t come running out.”
You may be wondering how someone could do something so horrendous and malicious over something so insignificant as contention over a video game?
It was revealed, according to court records, that David Katz did have a history of mental illness, beginning in his adolescent years, and extending into adulthood.
He was hospitalized in a mental facility twice as a teenager, and once as an adult, according to Fox News, being prescribed antipsychotic and antidepressant medications.
Shay Kivlen, who lost a good friend in the shooting, had played against Katz before, and explained how he didn’t talk much online or in person, according to Fox News.
Kivlen continued saying that he was smart “but something was off about him.”
Not unlike many other perpetrators of mass shootings, Katz was quiet, had a seemingly hard time fitting in, and had a history of mental illness.
Republican Governor Matt Bevin from Kentucky spoke on the true underlying reasons in mass shootings, when he addressed societies lack of value on human life, as previously reported by Mommy Underground.
Bevin further asserts that parents need to be more involved in their children’s life, to see when they are struggling with a mental illness and develop a plan of action.
Katz was an adult when he acted out this horrific crime, but, as was mentioned, his problems had begun many years before.
Parents, at the risk of being too annoying or too invasive in your children’s life, be on top of their mental health. Ask questions about their day and well-being, and step in if they seem distressed.
Liberals try to infiltrate every aspect of society with their agenda that minimizes human dignity and worth, but then get upset when that agenda pushes humanity to do the unthinkable.
Conservatives are fighting for the end of death to the unborn, the innate worth of all humans as designed by God, and the value of family.
We cannot give in to the battle raging against our traditional values, or there will be no end to the violence like we saw in Jacksonville, Florida.
Please let us know in the comments section what you think about Katz’s violent outburst, and if there was any way to prevent it.