(WAND) - Police in Jacksonville, Florida, reported "multiple fatalities at the scene, many transported" at Jacksonville Landing, a downtown marketplace hosting a video game tournament on Sunday. They added that one suspect was dead at the scene as they continued to search.
Local authorities warned residents to stay away from the area due mass shooting.
Law enforcement officials told local NBC News affiliate First Coast News that four people are dead and 11 are injured.
"Stay far away from the area," the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tweeted. "The area is not safe at this time."
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed to NBC News that they sent multiple officer's to respond to a shooting downtown.
"We can’t stress enough to stay away. Many blocks away," the sheriff's department said in a second tweet.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Twitter that it was also "responding to a reported mass shooting in downtown Jacksonville."
The county sheriff, Mike Williams, and Jacksonville's mayor, Lenny Curry, were expected to address members of media later in the day on Sunday. The city said the two were in contact regarding the reported mass shooting.
The shooting appears to have occurred inside a pizza restaurant that includes a bar dedicated to video games and other forms of gaming. The bar was in the middle of hosting the Madden 19 Southeastern Qualifier Tournament, which comes with a $5,000 prize.
On a video of a live stream shared online, individuals playing in the Madden NFL video game tournament are interrupted by a series of popping blasts and screaming.
"What's he shooting with?" one person can be heard asking in the live-stream audio.
NBC News has not confirmed the authenticity of the video.
EA Sports, which put on the tournament, did not respond to a request for comment.
UPDATED
A gunman opened fire Sunday at an online video game tournament that was being livestreamed from a Florida mall, killing multiple people and sending many others to hospitals, authorities said.
Sheriff’s officers did not immediately confirm the number of dead at the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of restaurants and shops along the St. Johns River.
But an official close to the investigation said the shooting left four people dead and that the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was not clear if the official included the suspect in the death toll.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to release information.
Sheriff Mike Williams said authorities had yet to identify the suspect who attacked the video football tournament, which featured the game “Madden NFL 19.” The competition was held in a gaming bar that shares space with a pizzeria. Viewers could watch the games online and see the players.
Investigators were looking into online video that appeared to capture the scene right before the shooting began, Williams said.
A red dot that appears to be a laser pointer is visible on the chest of a player seconds before the first of a dozen gunshots rings out.
Florida authorities say they’ve finished clearing the scene of a fatal mass shooting at a riverfront mall in Jacksonville and there are no additional suspects. Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams says a suspect is dead at the scene. (Aug. 26)
Jason Lake, the founder and CEO of compLexity, a company that owns professional e-sports teams, said on Twitter that one of his players, 19-year-old Drini Gjoka, was shot in the thumb.
Gjoka tweeted: “The tourney just got shot up. Im leavinng and never coming back.” Then: “I am literally so lucky. The bullet hit my thumb. Worst day of my life.”
Marquis Williams, 28, and his girlfriend, Taylor Poindexter, 26, both from Chicago, were ordering pizza at the bar when they heard the gunfire. Williams said people trampled each other trying to get away.
“Initially we thought it was a balloon popping, but there weren’t any balloons in the room. Then we heard repeat shots and we took off running,” said Williams, who participated in the tournament earlier.
The sheriff’s office used Twitter and Facebook to warn people to stay far away and to ask anyone who was hiding to call 911.
Police barricaded a three-block radius around the mall. Officers and Coast Guard boats patrolled the nearby river. Many ambulances could be seen in the area, but the mall area appeared empty of all but law enforcement. Police also took up positions on a bridge overlooking the river.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and the White House was monitoring the situation.
The Jacksonville Landing, in the heart of the city’s downtown, also hosts concerts and other entertainment. It was the site of a Trump rally in 2015, early in his campaign for the White House.
