Wait–Who Did the Jacksonville Fire Marshal Blame for the Madden Tournament Shooting?
Last weekend, David Katz, a man who was hospitalized twice for mental health issues, opened fire and killed two people at a Madden 19 tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. He wounded at least nine more as well; Katz reportedly snapped after losing in the event. A resident of South Baltimore, he bought two handguns legally, despite his mental health history. Also, there are more questions concerning the purchases since Maryland has the one handgun a month rule. . .
Katz was hospitalized twice for mental issues during his teenage years, being prescribed anti-psychotics, and having the police summoned by his parents, but he wasn’t involuntarily committed. Even if Katz had a concealed carry permit, which raises more eyebrows due to his mental state, Maryland and Florida don’t share reciprocity. In short, he had his guns in Florida illegally. It goes without saying; it’s his fault, right? Well, according to the Jacksonville Fire Marshal, it’s the fault of Chicago Pizza, who hosted the event (via Florida Times Union) [emphasis mine]:
Chicago Pizza was cited late Wednesday for having an un-permitted gaming room by the Jacksonville Fire Prevention Division, the same space where Sunday’s mass shooting left three people dead including a 24-year-old gunman from Baltimore, and about a dozen others injured. . .
City fire inspectors say Chicago Pizza was not permitted to hold the video game tournament that turned deadly at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to its Wednesday code violation report. The report states the restaurant’s last approved building layout was submitted back in 2009, but the restaurant altered the layout plan without approval. That created the GLHF Game Bar, where this past weekend’s Madden NFL 19 video gaming tournament was held. That makes it an un-permitted game area, the fire department said.
“If Chicago Pizza would not have altered the layout plan by creating an un-permitted game room area, the video game tournament would not have occurred, and thus, this incident would not have occurred at the Jacksonville Landing,” the fire department statement read. “This area was neither authorized nor a part of their submitted and approved building layout plan.”
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