JACKSONVILLE - Jacksonville Landing, the site of Sunday’s shooting spree that left three dead and others wounded, is a popular destination for University of Georgia fans who trek south each year for the game against the University of Florida.
Photos from Georgia-Florida festivities over the years show fans in red and black (and blue and orange) making merry ahead of the epic annual matchup.
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On Monday, the scene was one of yellow crime tape and satellite trucks as dozens of reporters and photographers and the police officers they outnumbered swarmed the open-air retail and dining complex on the St. John’s River.
Authorities say David Katz, 24, of Baltimore opened fire on a video game tournament in the back of Chicago Pizza, killing two people and wounding 11 before turning the gun on himself.
Now The Landing is closed indefinitely.
Naly Vega, manager of the development’s Cinco de Mayo Mexican restaurant, was working when gunshots rang out and chaos erupted.
She put tables over windows and told patrons hide, some in cabinets. Only after things calmed down did Vega, who is pregnant, leave for the hospital.
She feared the physical and emotional stress may have harmed her unborn child, but doctors say everything is fine.
Recounting the tragedy on Tuesday, Vega managed to laugh here and there in between tears but knows even those who weren’t shot will have lasting trauma.
“Everybody is gonna have fear,” she said.
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