AUGUST 27, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


THIS IS A NATIONAL SHAME. WHERE THERE IS SIMPLE, HONEST GOODNESS, STAMP IT OUT!



https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-flag-longer-half-staff-john-mccains/story?id=57422250
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-flag-longer-half-staff-john-mccains/story?id=57422250
By NATALY PAK Aug 27, 2018, 12:15 PM ET

VIDEO -- WATCH Trump has muted response to John McCain's death

The White House flag is no longer flying at half-staff in honor of the late Sen. John McCain, while President Donald Trump appeared to ignore questions about the Arizona senator in the Oval Office Monday morning.

When ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl asked the president for "any thoughts on the legacy of John McCain," Trump heard the question but ignored him several times during a Mexico trade announcement in front of reporters, according to Karl.

White House officials had returned the U.S. flag full-staff around midnight, ABC News senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega told “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos Monday.

The White House flag could then be seen for some time flying at full-staff while the banners surrounding the Washington Monument were at half-staff until eventually raised as well.

PHOTO: Camera shot facing south over the White House - you can see the flag at the WH at full staff while the flags surrounding the Washington Monument are lowered as of 5:13 am on Aug, 27, 2018.karentravers/Twitter
Camera shot facing south over the White House - you can see the flag at the WH at full staff while the flags surrounding the Washington Monument are lowered as of 5:13 am on Aug, 27, 2018.more +

The White House flag-lowering that lasted less than 48 hours breaks from precedent that it is lowered until burial.

The federal code states that the flag shall be lowered on the day of death and the following day for a sitting member of Congress. Flying it at half-staff for an extended period of time is at the discretion of the president.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to the West Wing of the White House in Washington, July 30, 2018.Susan Walsh/AP, FILE

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Trump rejected his aides’ recommendation to issue a statement praising the late Arizona senator, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

(MORE: John McCain’s complicated relationship with President Trump)
But Trump did release a tweet of condolences.


Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!

8:44 PM - Aug 25, 2018
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The McCain family had reportedly asked the president not to attend McCain’s funeral even before he died this weekend at age 81.

Two former presidents -- Barack Obama and George W. Bush -- will deliver eulogies Saturday. Vice President Mike Pence has also been invited to the funeral.


https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-george-bush-honored-eulogize-john-mccain/story?id=57413281
Former President George W. Bush 'honored' to eulogize John McCain
By DEENA ZARU Aug 26, 2018, 1:57 PM ET

VIDEO -- WATCH Celebrating the life and legacy of Sen. John McCain

Former President George W. Bush has accepted an invitation to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of Sen. John McCain at the National Cathedral and is "honored to have been asked to speak," Bush spokesman Freddy Ford confirmed to ABC News on Sunday. Former first lady Laura Bush will also be in attendance.

McCain, a Vietnam War hero with more than 35 years of public service who became one of the most distinctive figures in modern American politics, died Saturday at his home in Arizona at the age of 81 after a long battle with cancer.

The New York Times reported on Saturday night that McCain requested that both Bush and former President Barack Obama — each of whom has run against the Arizona senator in presidential campaigns — be invited to deliver eulogies at the senator's funeral. The Times also reported Saturday that while Vice President Mike Pence was invited to attend the funeral, President Donald Trump, who has had a tumultuous relationship with McCain, was not invited.


ABC News
✔
@ABC
Remembering Senator John McCain.

1936-2018https://abcn.ws/2PBx7cu

9:16 AM - Aug 26, 2018
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ABC News has reached out to the White House and Obama's representatives, but a request for comment was not immediately returned.

McCain has a long history of reaching out to lawmakers across the political aisle to pass major legislation in the Senate and of overcoming political differences. The Arizona senator lost to fellow Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 GOP primary for president.

Bush paid tribute to McCain on Saturday, writing, "Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order."

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

ABC News Politics
✔
@ABCPolitics
Former Pres. George W. Bush: "Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order." http://abcn.ws/2P8LqUH

12:48 PM - Aug 26, 2018
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PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate John Mccain and democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama greet each other at the start of the final presidential debate in Hempstead, New York, Oct. 15, 2008.Justin Lane/EPA via Shutterstock

Republican presidential candidate John Mccain and democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama greet each other at the start of the final presidential debate in Hempstead, New York, Oct. 15, 2008.more +

Obama, who defeated McCain in the 2008 presidential election, offered his condolences to the McCain family and shared a heartfelt tribute to the Arizona senator in a statement on Saturday.

“John McCain and I were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics,” he wrote. “But we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

ABC News Politics
✔
@ABCPolitics
Former Pres. Barack Obama shares a tribute to Sen. John McCain http://abcn.ws/2P8LqUH

12:35 PM - Aug 26, 2018
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(MORE: John McCain’s greatest lesson was 'to forgive' and 'see the good' in opponents: Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake)

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate John McCain shakes hands with President George W. Bush after receiving his endorsement in the Rose Garden of the White House,March 5, 2008.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Republican presidential candidate John McCain shakes hands with President George W. Bush after receiving his endorsement in the Rose Garden of the White House, March 5, 2008.

McCain's fellow Arizona senator, Republican Jeff Flake, said on "This Week" Sunday that McCain's greatest lesson is “to forgive” and “to see the good in his opponents."

SLIDESHOW: Photos: From POW to senator, the rise of John McCain
VIDEO – FLAKE SPEAKING HIS CONDOLENCES AND PRAISE OF MCCAIN

Flake added that we can honor McCain's legacy by "seeing the good in our opponents, by being quick to forgive, by realizing that there's something more important than ourselves, to put service over and above our self interest."


ABC News Politics
✔
@ABCPolitics
Sen. Jeff Flake says we can honor John McCain's legacy by "seeing the good in our opponents, by being quick to forgive, by realizing that there's something more important than ourselves, to put service over and above our self interest" http://abcn.ws/2oas9Hh #ThisWeek

9:16 AM - Aug 26, 2018
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THIS STORY BRINGS A GREAT MANY THOUGHTS TO MY MIND, SOME ABOUT ALL OF OUR NATION’S SHOOTINGS, AND SOME ABOUT THE TRUMP FAMILY. FIRST, THOUGH, I WANT TO SAY THAT IVANKA TRUMP IS NOT HER FATHER. SHE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT EXPRESS SYMPATHY. I SOMEHOW JUST DON’T SEE HER AS BEING ONE OF THE FRIGID AND THOUGHTLESS PRIVILEGED PEOPLE WHO ARE ESSENTIALLY PREDATORY AGAINST US COMMONERS. SHE DID A GOOD THING, AND GOT PUNISHED FOR IT. I AM SORRY FOR THAT.

THERE IS A TENDENCY AMONG TWEETERS TO ACT LIKE SHARKS. THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT ALMOST ALWAYS THERE WILL BE NOBODY WHO WILL GO TO THE TROUBLE OF TRYING TO TRACK THEM DOWN AND SUE THEM. I AM ALSO AGAINST OUR DODGE CITY MENTALITY AT PARTS OF THE USA, BUT I LIMIT MYSELF TO TALKING ABOUT THE NEED FOR GUN CONTROL AND FOR BETTER MENTAL HEALTH MONITORING IN OUR COUNTRY, WHICH IS ALSO VERY UNPOPULAR AMONG THE “CONSERVATIVES.” AFTER ALL, WE ARE SUCH A GREAT COUNTRY. THE MORE ALL OF OUR CITIZENS ARE UNRESTRAINED, THE BETTER COUNTRY WE WILL BE, THEY SEEM TO THINK. TO ME, THAT SIMPLY MEANS NO LAWS, AND THAT MEANS A DANGEROUS PLACE TO LIVE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivanka-trump-faces-social-media-blowback-for-tweet-on-jacksonville-shooting/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS August 27, 2018, 9:04 AM
Ivanka Trump faces social media blowback for tweet on Jacksonville shooting

PHOTOGRAPH -- Ivanka Trump seen August 2, 2017. GETTY

President Trump's eldest daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump received a rash of criticism from social media users after she posted a message of sympathy to those impacted by a mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday.

Following reports that a shooting at a video game tournament left 2 dead and 11 others injured, Ivanka Trump tweeted, "As we await further details, our hearts are with Jacksonville and all those affected by today's tragic mass shooting." Some social media users responded by calling out the Trump daughter for standing by her father's policies against gun control and support of the National Rifle Association after yet another mass shooting in the United States.


Ivanka Trump
✔
@IvankaTrump
As we await further details, our hearts are with Jacksonville and all those affected by today’s tragic mass shooting. ♥️

4:13 PM - Aug 26, 2018
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"Your father is in bed with @NRA, he has removed barriers to mentally ill people getting weapons, and unless the perpetrator is a person of color, he will not give a damn. We have all the details we need," responded one Twitter user.

"After #Parkland you & your father had an opportunity to affect real change in gun reform. Instead you chose the NRA. Your time in the White House is coming to an end. You'll leave knowing when you had a chance to save children's lives, you took the easy way out & stayed silent," added another.

Similar messages played out over the course of the evening as her tweet garnered over 3,500 replies.

In the wake of last February's deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the Trump administration initially appeared open to conversations on common sense gun reforms. In several "listening sessions" after the shooting, Mr. Trump seemed to show support for proposals including strengthening background checks, restricting access to weapons for the mentally ill and raising the age for purchasing some firearms to 21. The president also suggested a much different approach: allowing "trained" teachers to carry concealed weapons on school property.

Just days later, the NRA said that during private meetings with Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, the president expressed that he does not "want gun control."

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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"I WILL NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED EVER AGAIN.” THIS IS A POINT THAT WE MUST ALL COME TO IN LIFE, AND THE SOONER THE BETTER. YOUTH IS A TIME THAT IS USUALLY FREE FROM CONSTANT ANXIETY, THOUGH TOO MANY KIDS DO HAVE TRAUMAS IN THEIR LIVES THAT DEFLATE THEIR HOPEFULNESS, JOY AND SELF-ESTEEM. IT IS THE TASK OF PARENTS TO TEACH THEIR KIDS TO BE CAUTIOUS. OF COURSE, MOST OF US WOULDN’T THINK THAT A VIDEO GAMING CONTEST WOULD END IN BLOODSHED.

THE FIRST NEWS REPORTS SAID THAT THE SHOOTER WAS OVERLY DISAPPOINTED AT LOSING AT THE GAME; BUT THE WITNESS BRAHEEM JOHNSON FROM THE PIZZA PARLOR DESCRIBED SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. HE SAID “DUDE CAME IN THERE, BASICALLY LIKE, TO KILL, BASICALLY. HE WAS JUST IN HIS RAMPAGE MODE." THE HIGH-QUALITY HAND GUN THAT HE CARRIED IMPARTS THE SAME MESSAGE. A “LASER SIGHT.” WHO NEED SPECIALIZATIONS LIKE THAT FOR SPORT SHOOTING?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/08/27/jacksonville-shooting-gunman-gamer-motive-security/1108460002/?csp=chromepush
Jacksonville shooting: Gunman's motive probed; gamers call for more security at events
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Published 9:00 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 10:41 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018

VIDEO -- Witnesses describe gunshots and panic at a Jacksonville, Florida video game tournament. Officials say a gunman killed two people and himself. The Jacksonville sheriff says authorities believe the gunman was 24-year-old David Katz of Baltimore. (Aug. 27) AP

Authorities continued to probe Monday why a player at a video-game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, gunned down two people and wounded 11 others Sunday, an incident that has prompted calls for more security at gaming events.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the lone shooter, who is believed to be David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, was among the dead and had killed himself. No motive has been revealed yet. Some media reports said Katz was upset about losing an intense game.

FBI agents, some in bulletproof vests with long guns, searched a family home of the man authorities believe is behind the attack in Baltimore, according to FBI spokesman Dave Fitz. The agents could be seen entering an upscale townhome complex near the city's Inner Harbor.

The violence broke out during a Madden NFL 19 video game tournament that was held in a gaming bar that shared space with the Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille in an entertainment complex along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.

The incident stunned gamers and sparked questions about security at gaming events. They are typically livestreamed from local bars or other gathering spots; the largest are held in sports arenas. Another tournament, the Evolution Championship Series in Las Vegas, drew about 15,000 people in March.

“It’s very clear that we need to be more proactive for 2019 and beyond,” tweeted Joey Cuellar, the tournament director. “The amount of undercover law enforcement at Evo was unprecedented, and we will be installing metal detectors for ALL days next year.”

Esports have become big business, which Goldman Sachs report valued at $500 million in 2016. Epic Games announced in May it will provide $100 million to fund prize pools for “Fortnite” tournaments during the first year of competition.

At Sunday’s Madden competition, the tournament was streamed live on Twitch.tv, an online network that attracts tens of millions of visitors, most of whom watch footage of other people playing video games.

“In the world of competitive video games, mental health issues loom so large and come up so often that the problem somehow becomes invisible,” wrote Tyler Erzberger, who covers esports for ESPN. “In a world where one day you can go from playing in your bedroom to the next being criticized by millions under spotlights, mental health can’t be overlooked.”

A live feed from the tournament at GLHF Game Bar showed the horror: The feed was interrupted by the sound of several gunshots, followed by people stampeding out. The shooter had a large-caliber handgun with a laser-sight attachment, according to Braheem Johnson of Jacksonville, who was working at the pizzeria, which adjoins the game bar.

"I just heard shots and I looked at the window and I see him," Johnson said. "Dude came in there, basically like, to kill, basically. He was just in his rampage mode."

Marquis Williams and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, were visiting the tournament from Chicago and about to order a pizza. The gunfire caught them off guard.

"The first shot, everybody just turned around and looked," Williams said. "The second, third, fourth shots, everyone just took off and ran for the exits."

Poindexter said they caught sight of the shooter.

"We saw him, had two hands on the gun, walking back, just popping rounds," she said.

While authorities had not released the names of the two shooting victims, multiple media outlets, including Florida Today of the USA TODAY Network, reported they were Taylor Robertson, 27, of Ballard, West Virginia, and Eli Clayton, 22, of Woodland Hills, California.

Sheriff Mike Williams said nine of the injured were taken to hospitals, seven with gunshot wounds. Two others sought hospital care on their own.

University of Florida Health Jacksonville, a level-one trauma center that treated six of the wounded, said Monday that four had been released and two were still there, one in good condition and the other in serious condition.

At Memorial Hospital, officials said three of the four shooting victims admitted Sunday remain in the hospital’s care and are in good condition. A fourth was treated and discharged.

“Our prayers go out to those who lost family or friends during today’s shooting at Jacksonville Landing,” read a post on the hospital’s Facebook page.

Nearby at Baptist Health, spokeswoman Cyndi Hamilton said one patient admitted yesterday for injuries sustained while fleeing the scene was treated and released.

More: FBI, ATF search Baltimore home in connection with Jacksonville shooting at Madden tournament

More: Here are the victims of the Jacksonville shooting at Madden tournament

More: 3 dead after shooting rampage at Madden tourney at Jacksonville Landing

Complexity Gaming, a professional gaming team that had a player participating in the event at the GLHF Game Bar, said Twitter participant Drini Gjoka was grazed in the hand but was "away from the scene and safe."

Gjoka tweeted that he was hit in the thumb when the tournament "got shot up."

"Worst day of my life," Gjoka said. "I will never take anything for granted ever again. Life can be cut short in a second."

27 PHOTOGRAPHS - Multiple fatalities at Madden tournament shooting in Jacksonville

A Jacksonville Sheriff officer walks past the GLHF Game Bar where 3 people including the gunman were killed at the Jacksonville Landing on Aug. 27, 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. The shooting occurred at the GLHF Game Bar during a Madden 19 video game tournament where three people were killed, including the gunman, and 11 others wounded. Two people were killed and 11 others wounded on August 26 when a video game tournament competitor went on a shooting rampage before turning the gun on himself, local police said. Sheriff Mike Williams named the suspect of the shooting as 24-year-old David Katz from Baltimore, Md. Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Contributing: John Torres of Florida Today and The Associated Press



THE PARENTS’ HOME IN MARYLAND IS BEING SEARCHED, AND NEIGHBORS CANVASSED. ONE OR TWO NEIGHBORS DID GIVE INFORMATION TO THE INVESTIGATORS; AND THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAMILY HERE. THE PARENTS WERE AT A LOSS AS TO WHAT TO DO WITH HIM. SO OFTEN, THIS IS THE SITUATION. PARENTS KNOW THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, BUT DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. THE MOTHER HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR A PLACE IN A HOSPITAL FOR HIM, BUT HADN’T FOUND ONE. IN THE 1980S HOSPITALS BEGAN CLOSING TO LONG TERM PATIENTS, WITH THE RESULT THAT THERE AREN’T ENOUGH RESIDENT BEDS WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED. THIS IS A REALLY SAD SITUATION.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/27/jacksonville-shooting-fbi-atf-searches-baltimore-home/1108711002/
FBI, ATF search Baltimore home in connection with Jacksonville shooting at Madden tournament
USA TODAY NETWORK N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
Published 9:26 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018 | Updated 11:40 a.m. ET Aug. 27, 2018

VIDEO -- David Katz: What we know about Jacksonville shooting suspect

BALTIMORE – ATF and FBI agents searched a Baltimore home Sunday night in connection with the fatal shooting rampage at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.

The suspect, David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, killed two and wounded 11 before taking his own life, according to Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.

The Baltimore home on the 1200 block of Harbor Island Walk was searched through the evening Sunday. Law enforcement arrived at the quiet row of nearly identical brick townhouses around 6 p.m. and searched the property for just over four hours, according to Baltimore ATF Public Information Officer Amanda Hils. The street is steps away from the Pataspco River near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, a major tourist hub.

Hils did not say why the home was being searched or comment on what was found inside. Property records show that the Harbor Island Walk home is owned by a man named Richard Katz. FBI spokesman Dave Fitz confirmed that agents had gone to the house of the suspect’s father in Baltimore. He declined to release specifics, citing the ongoing investigation.

More: Jacksonville shooting: Gunman's motive probed; gamers call for more security at events

More: Here are the victims of the Jacksonville shooting at Madden tournament

Photos: Jacksonville shooting in Madden tournament

This photo shows a police car behind police tape blocking a street leading to the Jacksonville Landing area in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, August 26, 2018, where two people were killed and 11 others wounded. - Two people were killed and 11 others wounded on August 26 when a video game tournament competitor went on a shooting rampage before turning the gun on himself in the northern Florida city of Jacksonville, local police said. Sheriff Mike Williams named the suspect of the shooting at a Madden 19 American football eSports tournament as 24-year-old David Katz from Baltimore, Maryland. GIANRIGO MARLETTA, AFP/Getty Images

50 PHOTOGRAPHS OF JACKSONVILLE AND THE LANDING

Who is David Katz, suspect in Jacksonville shooting?
usatoday.com2 hours ago



THERE ARE THREE OR FOUR MENTIONS BY GAMERS IN THIS ARTICLE ON SOME UNHEALTHY INCIDENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED BEFORE NOW, IN REGARD TO COMPETITIVE OR NONSTOP GAMING. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT A YOUNG PERSON WHO SPENDS HOURS GAMING ON A COMPUTER IS LACKING SOMETHING – HAPPINESS, ENTHUSIASM, INTEREST IN THE WORLD? THEY WOULD DO SO MUCH BETTER TO READ A BOOK OR GO PLAY FRISBEE IN THE PARK WITH THEIR DOG. BETTER STILL GET A JOB. THIS YOUNG MAN WAS 24 YEARS OLD. I PERSONALLY KNOW ONE SUCH YOUNG MAN, AND HE DOESN’T SEEM TOTALLY HEALTHY TO ME. ALSO, HE TRIED JOINING THE MILITARY AND WAS EJECTED WITHOUT FINISHING BASIC TRAINING – DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT THEY DO GIVE PSYCHIATRIC TESTING TO THE RECRUITS.

ONE THING I HAVEN’T SEEN MENTIONED TODAY OR YESTERDAY IS THE SIMILARITY OF THE ACTUAL ACTIVITY BETWEEN THESE GAMERS AND THE ADDICTED GAMBLERS WHO SPEND HOURS NONSTOP AT THEIR SLOT MACHINES, CRAPS TABLE OR ROULETTE WHEEL. THEY PLAY UNTIL THEY LOSE ALL THEIR MONEY. IT’S THE ALMOST HYPNOTIC REPETITIVE MOTION AND DRIVE TO WIN. IF I WERE PSYCHOANALYZING THAT, I WOULD SAY IT IS A WAY TO BLOCK UNWANTED THOUGHTS OF A SAD OR OTHERWISE TROUBLING NATURE BY KEEPING A CONSTANT FOCUS ON THE SCREEN.

NOTICE THIS QUOTATION FROM A GAMER: “SOME TOP PLAYERS AND INDUSTRY WATCHERS SAID SUNDAY THAT SECURITY HASN'T CAUGHT UP WITH THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SPORT.” NO SPORT SHOULD BE THIS SERIOUS.

NOW, READ PARAGRAPH 4 IN THIS ARTICLE. IT MENTIONS A DISTURBING COMMENT LEFT ON THE WEBSITE OF EVOLUTION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR. IT CRYPTICALLY SAID "MASS SHOOTING @EVO18 SEE YOU THERE." THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT MORE SECURITY GUARDS, BUT WHAT ABOUT SOME INTERNET LEVEL SECURITY TO CATCH SUCH THINGS WHEN THEY HAPPEN. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR COMPUTER GEEKS TO TRACE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ON THE NET TO THE SERVER WHICH ISSUED IT; THEN SEND FBI AGENTS POLITELY KNOCKING ON THE DOOR TO INVESTIGATE, BUT THEY SHOULD GO WELL-ARMED. IF THERE IS A PARENT THERE, PERHAPS THEY COULD BE CONVINCED TO HELP, OR COMPELLED IF NECESSARY. IF THE GAMER IS THERE AND PUTS UP A FIGHT, THEY WILL BE PREPARED FOR IT.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-florida-video-game-shooting-security-20180827-story.html
Shooting at Florida video game tournament raises calls for more security
Tamara Lush and Russ Bynum
Associated Press
APRIL 27, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Law enforcement responds to a shooting at Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 26, 2018. Florida authorities are reporting multiple fatalities after a mass shooting at the riverfront mall in Jacksonville that was hosting a video game tournament.


A champion gamer's decision to open fire Sunday afternoon during a video competition — killing two people and wounding nine others before killing himself — has prompted calls from gamers for more security at esports tournaments.

"It's very clear that we need to be more proactive for 2019 and beyond," tweeted Joey Cuellar, the tournament director for the Evolution Championship Series, an esports event that focuses on fighting games.

The tournament is held in Las Vegas and draws some 15,000 people. In March, organizers called the FBI when someone wrote online: "mass shooting @EVO18 see you there."

That event went off without a hitch, but Cuellar also wrote on Sunday: "The amount of undercover law enforcement at Evo was unprecedented, and we will be installing metal detectors for ALL days next year."

Esports are big business. A Goldman Sachs report in 2017 valued eSports at $500 million in 2016 and anticipated market growth. Entire companies have sprung up to form e-sports teams, and the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team sponsors an esports team (One of their players was injured in Sunday's shooting). And it's no wonder that everyone wants in on the action — careers can be made and millionaires are minted. Epic Games announced in May it will provide $100 million to fund prize pools for "Fortnite" tournaments during the first year of competition.

At Sunday's Madden competition, the tournament was streamed live on Twitch.tv, an online network that attracts tens of millions of visitors, most of whom watch footage of other people playing video games.

This weekend's "Madden 19 NFL Classic" was the first of four planned events.

According to the EA sports website - the game's developer — the top two finishers at the Jacksonville event would earn a spot in Madden Classic main event in Las Vegas that's scheduled for October.

There in Las Vegas, competitors will play for a share of the tournament's $165K prize pool, with the winner taking home $25,000.

It's unclear what kind of security was at the event, which was held at a game bar inside a waterfront mall.

Derek Jones of Santa Fe, New Mexico, came to Jacksonville to compete in the Madden tournament and was sitting in a fenced-in patio outside the venue when he heard the gunshots Sunday. Jones, 26, said he jumped the fence and ran.

Jones said he didn't notice any security —either private security guards or off-duty police officers— at the venue. He said it's a complaint he's had with tournament organizers in the past.

"I've been telling them this for a while that you need to make the players feel safe," Jones said.

He recalled a past Madden opponent who once kept screaming during their match that he was going to beat Jones up after the game. But Jones said that's the only time before Sunday he ever felt physically threatened.

Electronic Arts, the Madden game developer, released a statement calling the shooting horrific and senseless. "Our focus right now is on those affected, and supporting law enforcement as they continue their investigation into this crime."

Some top players and industry watchers said Sunday that security hasn't caught up with the seriousness of the sport.

"Heartbreaking to hear about the shooting at the Madden event," wrote Cristian Tamas, the director of esports programs for Twitch, the platform that broadcasts gamers' live streams. "Unfortunately, this was a matter of when not if. Esport event security, in general, has been extremely poor over the years, we should've stepped it up long ago."

In December, the Call of Duty World League tournament held in Dallas was evacuated — twice — due to bomb threats.

Seth Abner, an XGames Gold Medalist and Call of Duty World Champion, wrote on Twitter in the wake of Sunday's shooting: "I've been saying events NEED better security. Such a damn shame that now event coordinators will respond after a tragedy happens."

Some gamers say the pressure of competition, the desire to please fans and the intense gaming can lead to anxiety and mental health issues, or worse.

"In the world of competitive video games, mental health issues loom so large and come up so often that the problem somehow becomes invisible," wrote Tyler Erzberger, who covers esports for ESPN. "In a world where one day you can go from playing in your bedroom to the next being criticized by millions under spotlights, mental health can't be overlooked."

His article on mental health and gamers ran online Friday. On Sunday, he tweeted that "99% of the Esports events i've been to have had decent to very good security."



AFTER YEARS OF KNOWN PSYCHIATRIC ISSUES, KATZ WAS ALLOWED TO BUY HIS TWO HANDGUNS FROM A LICENSED DEALER. HOW OFTEN DOES THIS SAME TYPE OF THING HAPPEN, I WONDER? WE DON’T FIND OUT ABOUT IT EXCEPT WHEN THERE IS ONE OF THESE SHOOTINGS, I’LL BET. GUN SHOP OWNER SAYS, “LOOKING UP HIS ID IS TOO MUCH TROUBLE” OR “I KNOW HIS FATHER. THEY’RE OKAY.” THE TRUTH IS THAT I KNOW ZILCH ABOUT THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MOST OF MY ACQUAINTANCES. KNOWING A FAMILY MEMBER PROVES VERY LITTLE, AND AS FOR CASUAL FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORHOOD PEOPLE THEY DON’T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE LIKE. IF THEY DO, THEY’LL JUST SHRUG THEIR SHOULDERS AND WALK ON.

IF A FAMILY MEMBER DID SEEM TO BE “OUT OF TOUCH,” “DETACHED,” OR JUST DEPRESSED, I PERSONALLY WOULD TRY TO FIND OUT ABOUT THEM, AND ACCORDING TO THE SITUATION, POSSIBLY EVEN REPORT IT TO THE POLICE. SOMETIMES A NOSY NEIGHBOR CAN BE HELPFUL TO A FAMILY IN TROUBLE, OR EVEN SAVE LIFE. WHEN PEOPLE DON’T SPEAK UP, NOBODY KNOWS UNTIL IT’S TOO LATE THAT THERE IS A HUGE PROBLEM. BOTH PARENTS IN THIS CASE WERE HIGHLY PLACED IN THEIR PROFESSIONS, SO THIS WAS NO POVERTY-RELATED SITUATION; BUT SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THEIR POSITIONS THEY COULD HAVE BEEN HIDING THE SITUATION TO MAINTAIN THEIR SOCIAL STATUS. I HOPE NOT.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-jacksonville-david-katz-08272018-story.html
In Howard County, parents of Jacksonville shooting suspect had been desperate to find psychiatric care for son
Tim Prudente, Talia Richman and Talia RichmanContact Reporters
The Baltimore Sun
AUGUST 27, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Peggy Marx, a former neighbor of the Katz family, recalls the family as being anti-social when they lived near her home nearly a decade earlier. David Katz, 24, is the suspected gunman in Sunday's mass shooting at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, FL. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video)

Years before a 24-year-old Columbia man allegedly unleashed a deadly barrage of gunfire at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., the parents of David Katz had been desperate to find some treatment for their son’s troubling behavior.

They had tried psychiatric care in Towson and Rockville, enrolled him in public and private schools, and even sent him to Utah for a therapeutic wilderness school for teens.

Court records show his behavior was still worrisome.

“David would go days without bathing, would play video games until 4 a.m. on school nights, would walk around the house in circles,” Howard County Circuit Judge Lenore Gelfman wrote in 2010. “[He] was failing all classes at Hammond High, was unresponsive to school teachers and uncooperative with school psychotherapists/counselors, and was extremely hostile toward his mother.”

Katz once punched a hole through his mother’s bedroom door to retrieve the video game controllers she had taken from him, his mother, Elizabeth Katz, told the court.

The young man’s mental health and treatment were among the issues at the center of a contentious decade-long divorce case between his parents. Hundreds of pages of court records reveal his troubling behavior and his parents’ search for a treatment in the years preceding Sunday’s deadly attack.

Jacksonville shooter investigation leads to house in Baltimore

A Baltimore man has been identified as the gunman who opened fire at a Jacksonville, Fla., Madden video game competition Sunday.

David Katz, 24, had been participating in a tournament for the Madden football game franchise, and was among those pronounced dead at the scene. Federal authorities were at a home near in Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Sunday night as part of an investigation.

(Kenneth K. Lam)
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Katz shot and killed two people and injured 10 others before taking his own life during the “Madden” football video-game tournament in Jacksonville. Elijah Clayton, a 22-year-old football star from California, and Taylor Robertson, a 28-year-old from West Virginia, were killed.

On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said investigators have not yet determined a motive. He said Katz recently purchased the two handguns he used in the shooting legally from a licensed dealer in the Baltimore area.

Charles Spencer, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Jacksonville office, said the agency continues to investigate Katz’s actions before the shooting — where he was, where he stayed and with whom he had contact. Agents are also looking into Katz’s history.

David Katz was raised in Columbia as the youngest son of Richard and Elizabeth Katz. At the time of their divorce in 2005, Richard Katz was a prominent engineer who designed electronics for NASA spacecraft. Dr. Elizabeth Katz worked as a toxicologist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Rockville. The couple had two boys, Brandon and David. The family lived in the tree-lined suburbs of Howard County. Neither parent could be reached for comment Monday.

Neighbor Peggy Marx, 52, remembers the family keeping to themselves. She would invite them to neighborhood barbecues and events, but they’d never come. Some neighbors, Marx said, would comment on how they saw police cars outside the family home. The family moved away years ago.

“Them being antisocial,” Marx said, “that’s the only thing that makes them memorable.”

What we know about David Katz, the alleged Jacksonville shooting gunman from Maryland

Another neighbor remembers them differently. Renee Williamson said the family was quiet, but did try to reach out. When Williamson gave birth years ago, the Katz family brought her a gift. Still, she didn’t know the family well. They once invited her to their son’s karate tournament. They haven’t spoken since the family moved and the parents divorced.

In a 2010 ruling on child support, a Howard County judge noted David Katz exhibited “extraordinary and significant medical and behavioral issues.”

By 12 years old, he was taking Risperdal, an anti-psychotic drug to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, his father said in court records. He often missed school and resisted treatment, sometimes curling into a ball. His father said the boy would appear to be “looking right through you.”

In April 2006, he locked himself in his mother’s Volkswagen Jetta to avoid an appointment with a therapist, according to court records.

A raft of psychologists and counselors offered various opinions on his behavior over the years. In court records, one therapist described 12-year-old David Katz as suffering a “psychiatric crisis.” The therapist concluded in 2006 that the boy’s depression interfered with his ability to eat, sleep and rise from bed.

David Katz attended Glenelg Country School from grades 6 through 8. He was hospitalized at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson for psychiatric treatment in 2007, his parents said in court records.

Jacksonville sheriff says suspected gunman targeted other gamers

During his teenage years, the boy was in the custody of his mother. Court records show they had a fraught relationship. She called the police on him in February 2009, his father said in court records. The court record includes a transcript of the 911 call.

“He’s sitting here wrestling me with the cable cord to the TV. I’ve had enough with this child. He has been abusive for over two years,” his mother told the dispatcher.

Four months later, the son called police on his mother, according to a transcript of the call.

“Well I was trying to watch TV and she came in and tried to cut the cord because she thought I wasn’t being fair to my brother or something,” he told the dispatcher. “Then I just like stood in her way and then she just came in with like scissors and I took the scissors and then she came with a knife.”

On his 16th birthday, he wrote a Howard County judge asking to stay with his father.

He graduated from Hammond High School in 2011. He enrolled at the University of Maryland in September 2014 and majored in environmental science and technology, a university spokeswoman said. He did not live on campus. He was not enrolled this semester, President Wallace Loh said.

Natalie Gill, a former teaching assistant and graduate student at the university, said Katz struggled and kept to himself during her class in fall 2015. She said the picture of him online with a blank expression — not smiling — was how he often appeared.

“I knew the other students very well, but he did not open up the same way as the others did,” said Gill, 27. “I pulled him aside and asked if there was anything I could do to help, and he basically had no reaction.”

Gill says Katz had a hard time keeping up with assignments, but he thanked her at the end of the semester for “being a good T.A.”

“I thought, ‘maybe I did have a little relationship with him after all,’ she said.

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Meanwhile, players in the online gaming community say Katz had competed under the nickname “RavensChamp” and “Bread.” He had won several tournaments and boasted of his skill in an interview posted to YouTube.

In one video online, a tournament announcer introduces Katz by noting his intense focus and standoffish attitude. “David Katz keeps to himself. He’s a man of business. … He’s not here to make friends.”

Chito Peppler says the Baltimore gaming community is shaken by the shooting, though it occurred hundreds of miles away. Peppler didn’t know Katz well — he, too, didn’t get the sense Katz was sociable — but he said the young man would occasionally attend a weekly game night at a sports bar near M&T Bank Stadium.


“There should never be a fear of someone taking our lives because of video games,” Peppler said.

The weekly players plan to come together for their regular gathering this week, which will include a Mario Party tournament. Some said it may be more somber than usual this time.

“I wasn’t super surprised that there was another shooting,” said Shalini Randall, of Baltimore. “I was surprised it was in the gaming community. There can be some aggression online, but when people come together for tournaments like this, it’s in the name of fun.”

Shooting at Florida video game tournament raises calls for more security

A decade before the shooting Sunday, a psychologist was asked in court if he believed David Katz could turn violent.

“There is the potential that David could lash out and become so angry that he would hit and hurt his mother,” Dr. Paul Berman told the court.

But could Katz harm anyone else, an attorney asked.

“No, I think Mom would be the target if David did lash out,” he said.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jessica Anderson contributed to this story.


**************************************************************


DISNEY WORLD RELENTS AND RAISES WORKER PAY TO THE MINIMUM OF $15.00 AN HOUR, “BY 2021,” THAT IS. BERNIE TWEETS “CONGRATS!” I JUST HOPE THAT DISNEY STARTS THE PAY RAISES RIGHT NOW, GRADUATING UPWARD TO $15 OVER TIME. I CAN’T REMEMBER WHERE I SAW IT, BUT ONE ARTICLE IN THIS LAST YEAR SAID THAT THEY ARE ONLY BEING PAID IN THE $7.00 RANGE IN MANY CASES. I THINK BERNIE SANDERS PLAN TO INITIATE A BILL TO GET DISNEY TO “TAX” DISNEY IN THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL AND STATE MONEYS THAT DISNEY WORKERS HAD TO USE IN ORDER TO FEED AND HOUSE THEIR FAMILIES. I DON’T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD WORK – WHAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE IS A PENALTY, THOUGH, NOT A TAX, IT SEEMS TO ME. BUT IF IT BRINGS SOME EQUITY TO THE SITUATION AND IT MIGHT ACTUALLY PASS IN CONGRESS, I THINK IT’S FAIR, AND A VERY IMAGINATIVE IDEA.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/27/sanders-applauds-courageous-workers-standing-disney-world-and-winning-15-minimum
Published on Monday, August 27, 2018
byCommon Dreams
Sanders Applauds 'Courageous' Workers for Standing Up to Disney World and Winning $15 Minimum Wage
"I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."
byJake Johnson, staff writer

PHOTOGRAPH -- "Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a tweet on Monday. (Photo: Brian Feinzimer/OC Weekly)
TWEET -- https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1034136080793133056

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to Twitter on Monday to congratulate Disney World workers and their unions for negotiating a "historic" contract that will boost the minimum wage at the Florida resort to $15 an hour by 2021, a pay raise that will benefit thousands of employees.

"Congratulations to the courageous workers and their unions at Disney World for their historic victory," wrote Sanders, who over the past several months has shamed Disney at rallies and town halls for paying starvation wages. "I applaud everyone who stood up to demand that workers at one of the wealthiest corporations in the world should have a decent standard of living."

The new contract—which union members are expected to approve in a final vote in September—was finally reached after nine months of grueling and often heated negotiations, during which workers accused Disney of holding $1,000 in bonuses "hostage" as a negotiating ploy.

"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives."
—Jessica Lella, Disney World employee

"Disney is a powerful company, they're a formidable foe," Eric Clinton, president of Unite Here Local 362—which represents Disney World employees—said in an interview with CNN. "To stand up to your boss that's that big and that powerful is really remarkable, and it's really inspiring."

The current minimum wage at Disney World is $10 an hour, and many employees report working at the resort for years without seeing a significant raise.

Jessica Lella, a 24-year-old ride operator at Disney World, told the New York Times that she has been working at the park for nearly six years and still makes just $10 an hour. (Disney CEO Bob Iger made over $36 million last year.)

"There's no doubt that this is going to change people's lives," Lella said of the newly negotiated pay increase, which comes just a month after Disneyland workers in California won a $15 minimum wage.

Disney World's decision to agree to the new pay hike comes as the company is under growing scrutiny from workers, lawmakers, and reporters over its long hours and low pay, which often force workers to live in their cars and cheap motels to get by.

"The dozens of motels lining a 15-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 192 just outside of Disney World have a secret inside: For the past two decades, they've increasingly served as home for many Disney World employees," journalist Michael Sainato noted in a report for Vice in June.

"Sometimes workers stay in the motels temporarily while they find permanent housing, others are forced by poverty and other circumstances to live in them for months or even years," Sainato added. "It's difficult to say exactly how many employees currently reside in these motels but three Disney World workers have told me the number is in the hundreds."


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