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Jewish video gamer kills two, wounds ten before shooting himself

David Katz is said to have shot fellow participants at a competition in Florida before turning the gun on himself

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A Jewish professional video gamer with a history of mental illness is suspected of having shot and killed two people and wounded ten others before turning his gun on himself.

Mike Williams, a local sheriff in Jacksonville, Florida, named the suspect as David Katz, a 24-year old from Baltimore, Maryland.

Mr Katz was taking part in a video game tournament on Sunday at a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, when he used a handgun to fire multiple shots at fellow competitors, wounding at least ten.

Two fellow competitors — Taylor Robertson, 27, and Elijah Clayton, 22 — were killed.

Mr Williams confirmed that Mr Katz legally purchased two handguns in Baltimore a few weeks before the shooting, but that the gamer had not fired both weapons during the shooting.

According to court records in Maryland accessed by AP, Mr Katz was hospitalised twice in psychiatric facilities as a teenager, and was prescribed antipsychotic medication. His parents divorced in 2011, with records detailing their disagreements of their son’s mental state and how it should be treated.

The competition was being live-screened, and viewers were able to see players reacting to gunshots and hear screams before the footage was cut off.

In 2017, Mr Katz won a similar live-screened tournament. Video footage shows commentators discussing the gamer, saying that he “keeps to himself. He’s a man of business… he’s not here to make friends.”

Maryland law requires gun buyers to disclose previous history of mental illness when attempting to purchase firearms.

It is unclear whether Mr Katz revealed this information when purchasing the weapons. 

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