The man police believe was the suspected gunman at a “Madden” video game tournament mass shooting in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sunday, 24-year-old David Katz from Baltimore, Md., was a gamer once recognized by the Buffalo Bills.
Katz, whose used the gamer tag “Bread” according to the gaming community, was the club champion for the team for “Madden NFL 17” in Buffalo, according to a news release from EA Sports, the company that developed the game.
“In what some are calling the most exciting moment in all the 2017 NFL Club Series Championships, David ‘Bread’ Katz won with a walk-off victory by completing an unbelievable pass as time expired to be crowned Buffalo Bills Champion. The crowd at 716 Food and Sport in Buffalo, NY was amazed with the clutch execution in the 4th quarter!”, EA Sports said.
In a February 2017 tweet, the Bills congratulated Katz and shared a photo of Katz holding up a team jersey with the name “Madden Champ” and the number 17 inscribed on it. Cyrus Kouandjio, an offensive tackle who now plays for the Denver Broncos, appears in the photo with Katz.
[Opinion: Politicizing tragedies like the Jacksonville shooting only drowns out the facts that matter]
Congrats to David Katz, the Madden 17 Bills Championship winner!
Thanks for following along, Bills fans. https://t.co/YHJHzlFElc pic.twitter.com/incdEhLxkT
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) February 27, 2017
Reports have suggested that the shooter, who police say died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was a competitor in the “Madden NFL 19” tournament Sunday who had lost. Police said at least one handgun was used in the shooting.
Once police identified the shooting suspect as Katz, social media users began tracking down and sharing old videos of Katz playing “Madden.” In one video of a prior “Madden” tournament, one commentator described Katz as a loner.
“Man, David Katz keeps to himself. He’s a man of business. Here’s not here for the experience. … He’s not here to make friends. He’s all business, he’s focused. And to even get him to open up to you to talk about anything — it’s like pulling teeth,” the commentator said.
EA Sports tweeted about the shooting Sunday, saying, “This is a horrible situation, and our deepest sympathies go out to all involved.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove “ravenschamp” as a tag used by David Katz. A report from NBC News says this tag was incorrectly associated with the shooting suspect, and that he instead went by “ravens2012champs.”
