Click to see full-size image
On August 12th, 6 people, including a 10-year-old child were killed in a mass shooting in Plymouth, England.
One of the female victims had been “treated at the scene for gunshot wounds” but “died in the hospital a short time later,” the statement said.
One of the casualties is the shooter.
#Police have confirmed there were six fatalities, including the suspect, in the firearms incident in the Keyham area of #Plymouth this evening.https://t.co/n7OZwzsHBv pic.twitter.com/KUZpFFn0c5
— Devon & Cornwall Police (@DC_Police) August 12, 2021
Devon and Cornwall Police said they were called to the Keyham area of the city, around 6 PM local time.
“Investigations are continuing into the incident and disruption to the road network in the Keyham area will remain throughout the night,” the police said.
The South Western Ambulance Service earlier said it had 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.
One of the people killed was a child under 10 years old, Luke Pollard, a local lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party, said in a tweet.
Police had earlier described the shooting as a “serious firearms incident” and said the situation was contained. The police added that the incident was not related to terrorism.
Sharron Turner, 57, who lives behind the scene of the shooting, was quoted by The Times newspaper as saying that a gunman had “kicked in” the front door of a semi-detached house before shooting a mother and her daughter.
Turner said she had been told that the man, who was dressed in black and grey, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon.
After the attack, the gunman escaped through a park behind the house and shot two dog walkers, The Times reported.
The incident in Plymouth is shocking and my thoughts are with those affected.
I have spoken to the Chief Constable and offered my full support.
I urge everyone to remain calm, follow police advice and allow our emergency services to get on with their jobs.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) August 12, 2021
In comments to the BBC, Sharron Turner, the same woman who spoke to the Times, gave a more in-depth account of the incident.
“Firstly, there was shouting, followed by gunshots–three, possibly four to begin with,” she said. “This was when the shooter kicked in the door of a house and randomly started shooting … he ran from the house shooting as he ran and proceeded to shoot at a few people in the Linear Park up from the drive.”
Witnesses quoted in local media said two of the victims were dog walkers.
“I heard the air ambulance helicopters, and two of them landed in the playing field behind us,” one resident identified as John told The Daily Mail. “Then we could hear police cars screeching and we saw armed response officers running up the hill, carrying guns. And loads of ambulances arrived. I went out to check that people were all right and to ask if there was anything we could do, and the Police Community Support Officers told everyone to get back indoors.”
A 54-year-old man named Robert Pinkerton told PlymouthLive that he heard a “loud bang.” He then “walked around the corner,” he said, where he “bumped into a bloke with a shotgun” and quickly “swerved.”
The police said that they are treating the shooting as a domestic incident and not a “terror-related matter.” They said investigators will examine the phones, computers, and other evidence from the shooter’s home.
The incident marks the first mass shooting in the United Kingdom in 11 years. Handguns have been banned in England, Wales, and Scotland, since 16 first graders and their gym teacher were shot dead in the 1996 Dunblane massacre.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
