JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing two people and then fatally shooting himself in an attack that sent several others to hospitals, authorities said.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said authorities believe 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore carried out the attack using at least one handgun at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River. He said the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot and that authorities were still making final confirmation of his identity with the FBI assisting them in Baltimore.
Nine other people were wounded by gunfire and all were in stable condition Sunday evening, Williams said. He added that two others were injured in the chaos as people sought to flee the gunfire.
Katz was in Jacksonville for the “Madden NFL 19” video game tournament. The games maker, EA Sports, lists a David Katz as a 2017 championship winner.
Thee competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said. A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire. Williams said people trampled each other in the panic while trying to get away.
“Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running,” said Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of compLexity, a company that owns professional e-sports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb.
Gjoka tweeted: “The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng and never coming back.” Then: “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.”
The sheriff’s office used Twitter and Facebook immediately after the shooting to warn people to stay far away and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911. Police also barricaded a three-block radius around the mall. Officers and Coast Guard boats patrolled the nearby river. Many ambulances could be seen in the area, but the mall area appeared empty of all but law enforcement. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city’s downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
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5 p.m.
A source close to the investigation says a mass shooting during a video game tournament at a Jacksonville, Florida, riverfront mall has left four people dead.
The source says the person who opened fire died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The source spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release information on the shooting. It wasn’t immediately clear if the source was including the suspect in the death toll.
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the suspect, a white male whose identity authorities are still seeking to confirm, had died. He did not elaborate, but said the shooting site had since been secured.
Several other people were taken to hospitals.
Sounds of the shooting were captured as the gaming tournament was being livestreamed.
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4:45 p.m.
Florida authorities say they’ve finished clearing the scene of a fatal mass shooting at a riverfront mall in Jacksonville and there are no additional suspects.
Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says a suspect is dead at the scene and they are still working to identify the male.
The sheriff’s office says the shooting, which erupted during a video game tournament, has left multiple dead and sent others to the hospital. Williams did not give any details on the number of people killed or wounded.
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida authorities are reporting multiple people dead and “many transported” to hospitals after a mass shooting at a riverfront mall in Jacksonville that was hosting a video game tournament.
Mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing. Stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY #TheLandingMassShooting
— Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) August 26, 2018
The Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office is reporting that one suspect is dead at the scene after the shooting at Jacksonville Landing, but it was unknown if there were other suspects involved.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office used Twitter and Facebook to warn people to stay far away from the Jacksonville Landing.
The department says to “stay far away from the area. The area is not safe at this time. STAY AWAY.”
“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,” the sheriff’s office said via Twitter.
The sheriff’s office didn’t provide any other information, but also warned news media to stay away from the area, which contains restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River.
The GLHF Game Bar at the Landing was hosting a Madden 19 video game tournament at the time of the shooting.