DAVENPORT, Iowa-- A shooting that killed two people during a Madden 19 EA Sports tournament is shaking up the gaming industry, including here in the Quad Cities.
"It breaks my heart that something like this has happened in something I love so dearly," said Chase Neukam. Neukam works at Paradigm, a new competitive gaming business in Davenport.
The tragic event hit close to home, he said.
"We`re holding a Madden tournament for kick off weekend so it was just like wow," said Neukam.
Now what happened is serving as a wake up call. He believes security at esports events should be as serious as an NFL game.
"How do we fix this, how do we allocate for something like this, how do we prepare for this. I think it`s a very important discussion that needs to happen," said Neukam.
Right now, Paradigm has cameras throughout the rooms. They are constantly watching what is going on during business hours. They also wander around themselves to make sure everything is safe. Not only for the equipment but for customers
"The thought of someone coming in here and taking that fun away it only takes one bad experience, one bad experience to put that in someone`s head that they can not come here and be safe and that is what we are avoiding at all costs," said Neukam.
Paradigm owner, Steve Grubbs, has already called for a meeting next week to go over safety measures and what they can do to improve security.