It happens at concerts and churches, in nightclubs and newsrooms, at elementary schools, high schools and college campuses.
And now, sadly, you can't even play video games without worrying about getting blown away by a psychopath.
"You think you're safe just playing a game for fun and then a sad, upsetting tragedy like this happens," says Belal Almashni _ a 24-year-old member of the Orlando Magic's NBA 2K competitive video game team _ in the aftermath of the mass shooting at the "Madden NFL 19" tournament Jacksonville, Fla., on Sunday. "It's insane. You just can never imagine something like this could happen."
Actually, it's getting easier and easier to imagine. We've certainly seen it happen in this state too many times in recent years _ at Pulse, at Stoneman Douglas and now at a football video game tournament in Jacksonville, where the gunman killed two people and wounded 10 others before fatally shooting himself.
It's hard not to be angry and depressed about what's happening in our country right now. Personally, I hope that the Jacksonville killer, David Katz, a 24-year-old from Baltimore, is in hell right now, burning like a roasted pig on a barbecue spit.
One of those who was shot by Katz and survived was Timothy Anselimo, a member of the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA 2K team. Anselimo, known in the gamer community as Larry Legend because of his skill level at so many different types of games, was shot three times and underwent surgery on Monday.
He sent out a tweet late Sunday night that read, "Devastated. No Words. Surgery In The Morning. Thanks To All Who Reached Out."
Among those who reached out was Almashni, the Magic's 2K player who has known Anselimo for years. It's no secret that competitive video gamers are a close-knit community because the elite players have been competing in tournaments with each other since they were kids.
"We all know each other, we're for each other and have each other's backs _ especially in the 2K league" says Almashni, who is known as "Supreme Puller" in the gaming community. "It's devastating to see one of your friends get shot three times. He was also shot in his hand. I'm not sure how severe it was, but it's scary because your hands are your livelihood."
Almashni isn't buying the popular theory that violent video games are responsible for many of the violent shootings in this country.
"A lot of people play violent video games and I've played a lot of violent video games all my life, and it certainly doesn't trigger me to do something like this (a mass shooting)," Almashni says. "I don't know what exactly happened in (Katz's) life to make him do something so horribile, but I don't think it's video games. I think video games are a scapegoat and an excuse for what's happening right now."
Translation: Video games don't kill people, people do.
And, as Almashni says, we can't let those deranged, pathetic people make us stop doing what we enjoy. We have to endure and persevere. We must keep loving _ and living.
As John Madden, the founder of the NFL's most popular video game, once said:
"The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer."
