JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) - A father and a son from Clearwater reunited in Jacksonville on Sunday after a deadly shooting at a video gaming tournament.
The father tells News Channel 8 he got a text from his son around 1:40 on Sunday afternoon. He did not realize why until his son called him whispering from the bathroom. “He texted me, ‘Whatever happens, I love you.’ And I texted him back, ‘I love you too,’” Stephen Javaruski recalled. “I didn't realize what was going on and then, when he called me, I knew what was happening.”
A man had fired multiple gunshots into the middle of the tournament. “(My son) ran into the bathroom and waited there with other people,” said Javaruski. “Then the police came and brought them out.”
Javaruski's son, also named Stephen, is known as "ImSteveyJ" in the gaming world. “I was praying and I was very upset,” said Javaruski. “I did not know what to do because he was in there. Anything could have happened. The shooter could have gone into the bathrooms too.
”Stephen was not hurt in the shooting but he lost some friends. Javaruski told News Channel 8. “They are all a good bunch of kids.”