Some of you may be aware of the Jacksonville mass shooting which occurred a few days ago, where sadly two innocent people were killed and 11 others injured in a shooting at a Madden Esports Qualifier. Alongside this the event was live streamed at the time, meaning that the events had unfolded in front of a live audience, causing them considerable distress. More information about what happened can be found here.

The event has caused a reaction by many in the Esports community. Andrew Wilson of EA released the following statement:

"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."

Event organiser Dreamhack, hosting the Dreamhack Masters tournament in Stockholm this week, also released a statement regarding their event security:

"While it would be inappropriate to speculate on the details of this tragic incident, it is important for our gaming community to know the safety and security of our attendees, participants, staff and volunteers is always our top priority. We cannot provide the specific details on how we work with security, but we can share that this is an ongoing process done at all DreamHack events, globally, in consultation with law enforcement and security experts."

Professionals from other Esports have also added their input. Seth Abner, captain of Optic Gaming CoD mentioned how he believes the standard of security at LAN events needs to be tightened up:

"I’ve been saying events NEED better security. Such a damn shame that now event coordinators will respond after a tragedy happens. Thoughts are with everyone at the Madden tournament and their families."