London: Six people, including a suspected gunman, have died in a mass shooting which took place late Thursday night in Plymouth. Devon and Cornwall Police officials said among the six dead were three women, two men and the gunman. The shooting took place in the Keyham area of the city. One of the dead was a child under 10, sources said. However, the police have confirmed that the shooting was not terror-related.
This is the worst incident of mass shooting in more than a decade. The last mass shooting in Britain happened in 2010 when taxi driver Derrick Bird killed 12 people in Cumbria.
People were told to stay inside and follow police advice as the emergency response developed. Sharron who lives near to the shooting spot did not want to give her full name. She said what happened was ‘horrendous and so sad’. “First, there was shouting, followed by gunshots – three possibly four to begin with,” she informed. “This was when the shooter kicked in the door of a house and randomly started to fire. 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,” she was quoted as saying by ‘bbc.com’
Sharron also informed that the ‘shooter proceeded along Royal Navy Avenue still shooting’.
Another witness, Robert Pinkerton, said he ‘walked around the corner’ and ‘bumped into a bloke with a shotgun’. He told the police that the man was dressed all in black.
In a statement released Friday, Devon and Cornwall Police said two females and the three males died on the spot. One of the wounded women died shortly after in hospital. The police added: “The area has been cordoned off and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.”
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP Luke Pollard said the incident was ‘unspeakably awful’. He said he was ‘utterly devastated’ to learn one of those killed was a child.