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Shooting in Jacksonville leaves 3 dead including the gunman

Posted on by Rick Watts

Drini Gjoka tweeted his excitement for the Madden 19 video game tournament in downtown Jacksonville: “can’t wait to compete.”  About 15 hours later, Gjoka tweeted:  “The tourney just got shot up. I’m leaving and never coming back.”  Two people and the gunman were killed and several others wounded Sunday after a shooting rampage at the video game tourney at Chicago Pizza.  Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said the shooter, who is believed to be David Katz, 24, of Baltimore, was among the dead and had taken his own life.  The sheriff’s office said there were “multiple fatalities,” and many other victims were taken to hospitals. According to media reports, several more were wounded at the GLHF Game Bar.   A live Twitch feed from the tournament was underway when the shooting took place, and the audio feed was interrupted by the sound of several gunshots.  Among the injured are several competitors and a Complexity pro Madden player.  Here are the victims of the Jacksonville mass shooting at Madden tournament.  Multiple fatalities occurred in a shooting at a Madden 19 tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.

Those killed at the shooting

Taylor Robertson, 27, of Ballard, West Virginia. The gaming community, as well as close friends, posted about Robertson on social media.  EA Sports’ bio of Robertson: “Winner of last season’s Madden Classic, SpotmePlzzz has the skill to completely take over any Madden tournament. It’s been a while since he’s won an EA Major, but his potent offensive talent paired with his skill on defense makes him one of the toughest opponents in competitive Madden.”

Eli Clayton, 22, of Woodland Hills, California.

This is EA Sports’ bio of Clayton, who goes by “True” in the esports community.  “True is consistently one of the best in competitive Madden. He’s a frequent face in EA Majors, but has been the victim of some early exits. This season, True didn’t make it beyond the groups stage of the Classic, didn’t qualify for the Challenge, and was eliminated just one game into the Club Championship. Despite a rough season, True remains one of the best around and can potentially win it all when it’s done.

Taylor Poindexter of Chicago was at the gaming tournament at Jacksonville Landing with her boyfriend, Marquis Williams, during the shooting. She describes being injured in the rush to escape and crawling to safety.  They were seated in a nearby restaurant when the shooter began firing. The first shots caught them off guard, they said.  “We were talking, getting ready to order a pizza,” Williams said. “The first shot, everybody just turned around and looked. The second, third, fourth shots, everyone just took off and ran for the exits.”  As they joined the fray, Poindexter said they caught sight of the shooter.  “We saw him, had two hands on the gun, walking back, just popping rounds,” she said.  In the rush to escape, Williams clipped his leg against a chair or a pole and Poindexter was bowled by the crowd, injuring her ankle.  “We crawled out,” Poindexter said. “My boyfriend made it out before me. By the time I see him, I’m calling out to him. It was hard for me to walk.”  Hobbling, they fought the crowd and barricaded themselves in the bathroom of a Cinco De Mayo restaurant, away from the shots, where they awaited police.

Three set sweep for Oskaloosa volleyball last night

Posted on by Rick Watts

Oskaloosa High’s volleyball team opened its home season last night with a three set sweep of Grinnell: 25-12, 25-12 and 25-20.  Freshman Faith DeRonde had ten kills and two service aces to lead the Indians. Junior Emily Richmond added five kills and was in on four blocks.  Indians Coach Jen Comfort said afterwards that her team still has work to do.

“We still have a lot to work on.  I don’t think our serve receive is where I wanted it to be, especially not the third set, the score showed that.  The girls fought hard, they had good energy and played together…just worked hard for the win.”

Oskaloosa is off until Saturday, when the Indians play at a tournament at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Glenwood mother gets 50 years for her daughter’s October 2016 death

Posted on by Rick Watts

A Glenwood, Iowa woman that was convicted of causing her 8-year-old daughter’s death by giving her unprescribed antidepressants has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.  Misty Frazier, 34-years-old, received her sentence last Thursday following her earlier conviction for child endangerment resulting in death.  An autopsy showed that Frazier’s daughter, Kathleen Tafta, died in October 2016 of an overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline.

Another murder in Ottumwa last week

Posted on by Rick Watts

Jacob Heckethorn is facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder after shooting two people in Ottumwa Thursday night.  He is currently being held without bond.  Ottumwa Police arrested him Friday night at his home at 311 N. Birch St. after searching for a vehicle reported to have left the scene of the shooting. The shooting happened in the 100 block of North Ward Street.  Police say one male was found wounded and later died at the hospital.  His name has not been released yet.

August 28th: On this day

Posted on by Rick Watts

Born on this day in 1982 in Star, Mississippi, was LeAnn Rimes country/pop singer, known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Bill Mack song “Blue” when she was 13 to become the youngest country music star since Tanya Tucker in 1972.

Oskaloosa loses season opener to Pella Christian Friday night

Posted on by Rick Watts

Oskaloosa found out just how good Pella Christian’s football team is.  Pella Christian, the sixth-ranked team in Class 1A, beat the Indians 51-33 Friday night in Pella in the 2018 season opener.  Pella Christian’s Noah Treimer rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown and also scored a touchdown on an interception. Oskaloosa Coach Jake Jenkins talked after the game.

 

“We made too many big mistakes.  It went back and forth.  You always make a lot of mistakes; your biggest growth is from week one to week two.  They made mistakes, too. We just made big mistakes that cost us.  A lot of them were on special teams.  We had too many gimmes.  If we had made them earn every single point, the outcome could have been different.  You have to give them credit.  It is what it is.  We made too many big mistakes to come back against a quality team like PC.”

 

On the plus side for Oskaloosa, senior Casey Hill rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Cole Henry rushed for two touchdowns and passed for 206 yards and a score, and Tyler Miller caught a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown.  The Indians kick off their home season Friday night at 7:30 against Washington at Lacey Recreation Complex.  You can hear the game on KMZN and the No Coast Network.

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