Plymouth shooting: six dead, including a child, after armed man opens fire
Six people, including a child, have died after a gunman repeatedly opened fire in Plymouth, police have confirmed.
The atrocity is being classed as a domestic incident and is not thought to be related to terrorism. Police believe the suspect to have shot himself.
A massive response by police, including armed officers and paramedics, followed the shooting on Thursday just outside the centre of Plymouth in south-western England. In a statement Devon and Cornwall police said: “Police were called to a serious firearms incident in Biddick Drive, in the Keyham area of Plymouth at about 6.10pm.
“Following attendance at the scene, two females and two males were deceased at the scene. A further male, believed to be the offender, was also deceased. All are believed to have died from gunshot wounds.
“Another female treated at the scene for gunshot wounds, died a short time later in hospital.
“All of the next of kin of the deceased have been located and informed by Devon and Cornwall police officers.
“Devon and Cornwall police would stress this is not a terrorism related incident.”
The MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Luke Pollard, said it was “a very grim day for our city and our community”.
He later tweeted: “I’m utterly devastated that one of the people killed in the #keyham shooting was a child under ten years old.”
Johnny Mercer, the Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, wrote on Twitter: “I am aware of a serious and tragic incident unfolding in Plymouth. Please obey all instructions from the police and do not post rumour or speculation on social media.
“The incident is not terror related, and neither is the suspect on the run in Plymouth. Remain calm.”
The home secretary, Priti Patel, called the incident “shocking” and tweeted that her thoughts were with those affected, adding: “I urge everyone to remain calm, follow police advice and allow our emergency services to get on with their jobs.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the events “shocking”. “My thoughts are with the families and neighbours of those caught up in this nightmare,” he said. “I pay tribute to our emergency services who ran towards events we’d all run from.”
The South Western ambulance service said it was called at just after 6pm on Thursday to Keyham. “We responded to the incident with a significant number of resources, including hazardous area response teams (HART), multiple ambulances, air ambulances, multiple doctors and senior paramedics,” it tweeted.
One area of investigation for police will be the motive for the shootings. Another will be whether the man who opened fire had a licence to hold a weapon and whether he should have had. Also under investigation is whether the man had any prior contact with police or the authorities.
Gun laws in the United Kingdom are strict, with those wanting a gun having to meet stringent conditions designed to detect those who may use them for criminal purposes and deny them a lethal weapon.
They were tightened after the Dunblane massacre in 1996 when a man who legally owned a firearm burst into a school and opened fire on children and teachers.
As the community reels from what has happened, a number of local spaces have taken it upon themselves to open their doors for people to come together to begin to come to terms with the events of Thursday evening.
In a video update posted on his Twitter account, Pollard said Ford primary school and St Mark’s church, both on Cambridge Road, would be open to the community from 9am on Friday. “The police, local councillors and I will be there to support the community. We will need time and space to process what has happened tonight,” Pollard said.
“But this will be a safe space for the community to come together, just outside the police cordon, to make sure that we have an opportunity to share, to talk, to sign-post to the help that is available.”
In comments responding to the post, Fr David Way said St Thomas church on Royal Navy Avenue would also be open from 9am “for prayers, lighting candles, peace and someone to talk to”.
Plymouth Methodist central hall said that its premises on Admiralty Street would also be open from 9am “to anyone who wants a chat, a cup of tea/coffee or a quiet space to pray and reflect”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, tweeted: “Truly terrible news. Thinking of the families and friends of those who have died and those injured.”
Plymouth city council said an “awful tragedy has happened in our city tonight”, adding: “Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this terrible incident.”
The local football team Plymouth Argyle tweeted: “Our hearts go out to victims of tonight’s tragic incident in our city, alongside their families, friends, and the wider Plymouth community.”