Madden Jacksonville Shooter Is Everything Gamers Aren't: The Community Responds

It seems to be a sad reality that mass shootings are increasingly a more prevalent situation. Regardless of the location involved, or the circumstances, mass shooting events always seem to shock and horrify the world. This time, the target was a gaming competition, a sanctioned Madden 19 esports event, and the perpetrator a competitor that failed to do well and decided to take out his anger on innocent bystanders. The gaming community is understandably rocked by the news, though many are also quick to deride the shooter and his apparent motives, reflecting the anger that many feel in such a situation.

Several Reddit threads appeared almost immediately in the wake of the incident, with the main r/news thread popping up shortly after the incident. User “VideoGameMusic” was quick to point out the general disgust the community is feeling with the whole situation, stating “What an absolute loser. Loses at a game and decides to kill people and yourself over it. I can't imagine what the hell was going through his mind. Like how is that your reaction to losing a damn small tournament? How do you get to the point where that's your response...”

This is absolutely heartbreaking. We as gamers play games to get away from things like this. My prayers and sincere condolences go out to all the families and friends who lost a loved one today. Truly a very sad day.

— ?Jeremy Lecus? (@BrewCityGamer) August 26, 2018

We’ve previously spoken about the lack of security at major esports events, and it seems that others are also raising the same points, with Reddit user “maxi7cs” posting “A lot of esports players on Twitter are bringing attention to this and how there is usually little to no security at esports events, despite many death threats happening and tournament organizers doing nothing. Hell, there was a FGC tournament not too long ago (I believe it was CEO in Daytona this year, which is one of the few super big FGC tournaments with actual security) that the security found a gun in someone’s bag. This is definitely a wake up call to esports events and their security.”

I care about our esports community (video games in general) But EA... set the example and show that one of the biggest video game companies cares and help our community stay safe at these events! My heart goes out to all of the victims and families affected by this.

— Marcos A. Basurto (@m1thetank) August 26, 2018

The reactions in almost all Reddit threads are similar, either discussing how disappointing the entire situation is, or expressing their sympathy towards the victims. Reddit user “Kappy1984” in the r/gaming megathread summed up a lot of the feeling surrounding the situation: “Makes you appreciate the waiting around for security at some of the more secure events. I remember Gabe even commenting on the waits at Ti8, seems absolutely justified now.

Totally fucked up, my thoughts go out to the friends and family of those lost and a speed recovery to those injured.

It's cowardly to target such a young and vulnerable crowd.”

Whether anything will change because of this event remains to be seen, but at the very least other esports organizers are taking notice of the situation, including Joey Cuellar, one of the founders of EVO, who spoke up about the intention to step up security at all future events.

While Evo does not comment on security procedures (for obvious reasons), it's very clear that we need to be more proactive for 2019 and beyond. The amount of undercover law enforcement at Evo was unprecedented, and we will be installing metal detectors for ALL days next year.

— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) August 26, 2018

We’ll have to wait and see exactly what changes are made to future events to prevent such a thing from occurring again. Hopefully this will be the last time an esports event is targeted in such a way, and our thoughts are with the victims during this time.

Update: High profile esports pros are chiming into the conversation, including FGC legend Justin Wong, a veteran of the esports scene.

My heart is broken... Condolences for the Madden community and everyone that was affected by the shooting.

This really makes me scared of going to any event in America. I always think in the back of my mind this could happen and we are only human and it sucks. Idk what to do..

— Echo Fox Justin Wong (@JWonggg) August 26, 2018

(Header image via Laura Heald / Associated Press)