EA announces fund initiative for Jacksonville shooting victims; $1m pledged by publisher

EA announced its plan to donate $1 million (£768,000) to the victims and families of the Jacksonville shooting, which occurred Sunday August 26 and left two people dead, with 11 more injured.

The donation spearheads the ‘Jacksonville Tribute’ – a funding initiative EA has set up for members of the public to donate for the victims and their families. Any proceeds from the initiative will go directly to those injured in the shooting, as well as to the families of Taylor Robertson and Elijah Clayton, the two veteran competitive Madden players who lost their lives in the incident.

The Jacksonville Tribute Livestream will take place on September 6, with more details to follow. A statement tweeted out by EA read, in part: "We would also like to help by bringing the gaming community together… We’ve heard from so many of you that you would like to support the victims, and to show that this horrific event will not define us, but only serve to make our community stronger.”

Separate events are being arranged to benefit the victims and families of those affected too, with one involving a player who was at Sunday’s tournament facing off against Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Bucanneers.

EA previously announced it was cancelling future Madden qualifiers for the tournament in order to focus on a review of safety protocols surrounding events it both runs and – like the Madden Classic – helps out with.