Jacksonville Shooting
Three people, including the shooter, were killed in the wake of the Jacksonville shooting on Sunday. In this picture, people participate in a gathering that was calling for an end to gun violence as the community deals with the aftermath of a shooting in the GLHF Game Bar at Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Florida, Aug. 27, 2018. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

EA Sports has canceled the remaining three qualifiers in its Madden Classic competition following the Jacksonville shooting in Florida that occurred Sunday. Three people, including the shooter David Katz who was a Madden competitor in the past, were killed in the incident, while many others were left injured.

Taylor Robertson, 22, and Elijah Clayton, 27, were the two victims of the shooting, both of whom were competing in the qualifiers. Robertson won the tournament in 2017, while Katz won it in 2016, according to EA Sports.

In a statement Monday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson expressed his shock and grief at the incident, and revealed the remaining qualifiers would be canceled as the video game company would now focus on running "a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators."

To Our Players and the Gaming Community,

I wanted to share some thoughts about the horrific and senseless act of violence that occurred in Jacksonville at the Madden competitive gaming event. I know many of us, myself included, are filled with shock and grief. Our teams have been working non-stop to do what we can to respond to this terrible situation.

First and foremost, it is an unthinkable tragedy that Taylor Robertson and Elijah Clayton, two of our top Madden competitors, lost their lives in this way. They were respected, positive and skilled competitors, the epitome of the players and personalities at the heart of our community. Their love of competition was evident through their participation in our events over the past few years. We are committed to supporting Taylor and Elijah’s families through this difficult time, and we send our deepest sympathies to their loved ones, to those injured yesterday, and everyone affected.

The event was a qualifying tournament for the Madden Classic, our first Madden EA Major competition of this season. While these qualifying events are operated independently by partners, we work with them to ensure competitive integrity and to gather feedback from players. We have made a decision to cancel our three remaining Madden Classic qualifier events while we run a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators. We will work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security at all of our competitive gaming events.

We’ve all been deeply affected by what took place in Jacksonville. This is the first time we’ve had to confront something like this as an organization, and I believe the first time our gaming community has dealt with a tragedy of this nature. Please take time to support each other through this challenging time.

It is not known at this point whether the remaining qualifiers will take place in the future.

The incident reignited the debate about gun laws, especially as Florida voters are set to to pick candidates for governor and Congress on Tuesday.

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