Fallston Man Shot In Jacksonville Filing Lawsuit: Report

JACKSONVILLE, FL — A Fallston man who was shot in the leg last weekend during the mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, is now filing suit, according to the Associated Press. He is one of 10 survivors shot at the video game tournament, and his friend was one of the two victims fatally shot.

“His life ended watching me play..." Jacob Mitich of Fallston, who made it to the second round of the Madden NFL 19 tournament, told the Associated Press.

His friend — Taylor Robinson aka "SpotMePlzzz," 27, of Ballard, West Virginia — was reportedly standing behind Mitich as he competed. Eli Clayton, 22, of Woodland Hills, California, who played under the name "Trueboy," was also killed.

Authorities said gunman David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, took his own life at the scene.

Orlando-based firm Morgan & Morgan announced Thursday it had filed suit on behalf of Mitich in the case.

The Harford County gamer's attorney said the lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of EA (the video game company sponsoring the event) and the venue (Chicago Pizza/GLHF and Jacksonville Landing), which reportedly had one private security guard and did not have an off-duty officer protecting players.

Morgan & Morgan held a press conference Tuesday announcing about half of the victims in the shooting had contacted its agency to file suit, the Florida Times-Union reported, and it was planning to proceed because its attorneys believed the incident was preventable and more security should have been provided.

"We are bringing this lawsuit to hold those responsible accountable," attorney James Young of Morgan & Morgan reportedly said at the press conference.

The Madden video game tournament was held Sunday at GLHF Game Bar, at the back of Chicago Pizza. The $5,000 tournament began around 11 a.m. at the game bar in Jacksonville Landing, which hosts hundreds of events every year at its restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville.

Chicago Pizza was shut down Wednesday due to numerous code violations, according to News4Jax, which reported the game bar was never permitted, and the fire marshal had found multiple code violations upon conducting an inspection after the shooting, including video game machines blocking exits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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• Jacksonville Mass Shooting: 3 Dead At Madden NFL Gaming Event
• Baltimore Man IDed As Jacksonville Mass Shooter

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