Gamer who eliminated Jacksonville shooter says suspect returned ‘acting strange,’ wearing same clothes from previous day

A gamer who traveled from New Jersey to Florida to compete in the Jacksonville Madden Championship alongside the suspect accused of shooting and killing two people described the shooter as a “weird” person who was cold to other competitors.

CBS47 reports that Dennis Alston, known as “Evil Ken,” competed in the Madden football video game tournament over the weekend, at the GLHF Game Bar, located in the back of the Chicago restaurant at The Jacksonville Landing entertainment center. Suspected shooter, David Katz, also in attendance, was reportedly eliminated from the competition on Saturday when two other players beat him. The defeat may have been the culprit behind the shootings, although police have not confirmed the motive.

Alston, one of the gamers who beat Katz, told the outlet he tried to shake the shooter’s hand after the game. Katz, according to Alston, refused his hand and stared at him blankly.

The following day, Katz returned to the tournament wearing the same clothes and “acting weird.” Katz left for a while, then returned with a handgun. Alston indicated that although he couldn’t determine what type of gun Katz had, the suspect shot around 10 rounds. Alston said he took cover during the ordeal.

A police officer walks by the front of a Chicago Pizza and GLHF Game Bar on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, at the scene of fatal shooting on Sunday, at The Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla. A gunman opened fire at a video game tournament killing multiple people and then fatally shooting himself in a rampage that wounded several others. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

“I seen some good people dead, man,” Alston recalled. “I seen people on the floor dead….You can’t put it into words. It’s stuff you see in movies, man. No words for it. There’s no place for it in this world for it.”

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Katz went by the name “Bread” to the gaming community. He was the winner a few of the Madden 2017 tournaments. He traveled from his hometown of Baltimore to attend the 2018 Jacksonville tournament. The FBI later raided his father’s Baltimore townhome.

Alston said that he didn’t think Katz targeted the people who defeated him in the 2018 tournament, as both he and the other gamer who beat Katz were not shot.

The story continues to develop. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: David Katz/ EA Sports Handout]