EA Sports Cancels Remaining Madden 19 Qualifiers

9:03 PM PT -- EA Sports has made the decision to cancel all 3 remaining Madden NFL 19 tournament qualifying events. A rep for the company tells TMZ, "We have made a decision to cancel our three remaining Madden Classic qualifier events while we run a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators."

The statement continues, "We will work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security al all of our competitive gaming events.

The next Madden NFL 19 tournament is going on as scheduled, days after the shooting in Florida, but organizers are making major changes ... TMZ has learned.

Dennis C. Wiltshire -- a rep for FIAD Entertainment Group, which is putting on the EA-sponsored event in Dulles, VA -- tells us, his organization had a knee-jerk reaction after hearing about Sunday's shooting in Jacksonville, FL that left 3 people dead, and many others injured.

He says within minutes, they started scrambling to beef up security for their event which is going down Saturday and Sunday. Wiltshire says their efforts included contacting local law enforcement and their independent security contractors for the event. The Madden tourney will be part of a larger gaming convention called GEXCon.

Wiltshire tells us, in addition to ramped-up security and police officers on site, they've strictly prohibited all guns inside the event. He wouldn't comment on specifics of security screenings, to avoid tipping their hand to the public. BTW ... Virginia's an open carry state.

As we reported ... police say 24-year-old David Katz opened fire Sunday, injuring 11 people and killing 2 others before shooting himself. Audio of the opening shots were broadcast live.

A moment of silence is being planned for the Virginia tournament. Wiltshire says EA has yet to reach out to offer any official guidance on how to proceed.

Originally Published -- 9:52 AM PDT