Two people were killed Sunday night in a shooting at a Madden NFL 19 video game tournament. The shooter, David Katz, 24, was a competitor who opened fire on other gamers after being eliminated from the competition. Fourteen others were injured in the attack, according to law enforcement.
The shooting was caught on the livestreaming service Twitch. Viewers could reportedly hear gunshots and someone yelling, “Oh fuck, what’d he shoot me with?” before the stream cut out abruptly. After shooting at his competitors, Katz killed himself.
Police have not released an official motive, nor have they officially identified the deceased, but friends and family members of Taylor Robertson and Elijah Clayton have identified the two gamers, and many are sharing memories and tributes to the pair.
Here’s what we know about the two victims of the Jacksonville, Florida shooting.
Taylor Robertson
Robertson, 27, went by the name “Spotmeplzzz” as a gamer. He was 27 years old when he was killed at the tournament Sunday. According to friends and fellow gamers who remembered him on Twitter, he was a quiet father and husband. He leaves behind his wife and son.
All over a VIDEO GAME, we lost two angels today. Spot me or Taylor Robertson was a Father and a husband. True boy Or Eli Clayton was someone’s Son and he was still young. This makes me so sick. Rest in paradise 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/CjXTesVcKl
— Good Kidd (@Yeezus_kj) August 26, 2018
SpotMe: quiet family man making a living doing what he loves.
True: a young kid with a whole world of opportunity in front of him.
My heart is heavy, today we lost 2 champions. Rest in paradise, brothers.
My condolences to those effected.
— Volt (@Go_On_Volt) August 26, 2018
Robertson won the Madden 17 Classic Tournament in 2016, according to the Huffington Post, and EA Sports, which sanctioned the competition, as one of the “toughest opponents in competitive Madden.”
Just days before the competition, he tweeted, “Excited for some live madden this weekend in Jacksonville. Time to chase that second belt.”
Excited for some live madden this weekend in Jacksonville. Time to chase that second belt. Also get a free lunch from @dalston17
— Taylor Robertson (@spotmeplzzz) August 20, 2018
Robertson was from Ballard, West Virginia. Local community members in Monroe County reacted to his death Sunday evening, sharing fond memories of him and sending condolences to the family, according to WV Metro News.
Andrew Evans remembered Robertson was “nothing but a winner” and said that he looked up to him so much when he was little, “as did most boys in Peterstown.”
“He loved his family more than anything,” Evans reportedly wrote in Facebook post.
Monroe County Clerk Donnie Evans also posted on Facebook Sunday night, writing, “God be with this family and wrap your loving arms around them.”
Elijah Clayton
Clayton, 22, was described by EA as “consistently one of the best.” He went by “Trueboy” as a gamer. Many of his friends remembered him on Twitter as a young man with his whole life ahead of him. He was from Woodland Hills, California.
Livestream footage of the attack reportedly showed Clayton with a red dot on his chest, before he was shot. It’s unclear what the dot was from or why it appeared.
George Amadeo, another gamer who was injured in the shooting, shared a recent story about Clayton, saying he had recently posted a fundraiser for a friend who had died in a house fire and that Clayton had donated a large sum, unprompted.
“True donated $100 and didn’t even know the person,” Amadeo tweeted. “True and Spotme are 2 of the nicest people I knew.”
I posted a gofundme for a person in my class who died in a house fire bout a month ago.. True donated $100 and didn't even know the person. True and Spotme are 2 of the nicest people I knew. Idk what to say, nothing to say.. Prayers to their families and everyone else involved.
— Fitzmagic13 (@fitzmagic13) August 27, 2018
As The Huffington Post noted Monday, in an April interview with EA Sports, Clayton was asked what he wanted people to know about him. He responded, “I’m really easy to get along with, I’m not a troublemaker. I’m always laughing and joking around. I’m just me, a cool dude. There’s really nowhere to go but up, honestly.”
Our hearts are broken as we learned that former Calabasas Football player @True__818 (Elijah Clayton) was senselessly murdered today during the mass shooting in Florida. We send our love, condolences, and deepest sense of sorrow to Elijah's Family and Friends pic.twitter.com/xhdQ8TLg0d
— CHS Coyote Football (@CalabasasFtball) August 27, 2018
Clayton played football in high school, and the team membered him on Twitter Sunday night.
“We send our love, condolences, and deepest sense of sorrow to Elijah’s family and friends,” the Calabasas High School Coyotes football team tweeted.