Plymouth shooting: Six dead in Keyham incident including suspect and a child

Six people have died in a shooting in the Keyham area of Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed.

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Three males and two females died at the scene, including the only suspect. Another woman received treatment for her injuries at the scene, but later died in hospital.

Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, tweeted that one of the victims had been a child under the age of 10.

‘Randomly started shooting’

He said more people were being treated for their injuries in hospital, and tweeted: “I’m utterly devastated that one of the people killed in the #keyham shooting was a child under ten years old.”

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All next of kin have been made aware of the deaths and Cornwall and Devon Police have confirmed they are not looking for any other suspects, nor is the incident being treated as terror-related.

In a statement early on Friday (13 August) morning, a spokesperson for the force said: “Devon and Cornwall Police would stress this is not a terrorism related incident.

“The area has been cordoned off and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.”

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The incident took place on Biddick Drive shortly after 6pm, where witnesses claim they saw a man dressed all in black and armed with a shotgun.

Police cordoned off the street and the surrounding area while investigations are underway, with road closures in place around the Keyham area.

Witnesses described hearing gunshots with one saying she saw a man “randomly” start shooting at people.

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Robert Pinkerton told the BBC he had “walked around the corner” and “bumped into a bloke with a shotgun”.

Another witness who lives on one of the neighbouring streets, named only as Sharon, told the BBC: “Firstly, there was shouting, followed by gunshots – three, possibly four to begin with.

“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.”

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The police urged anyone with video footage of the immediate aftermath not to share it on social media and warned against speculating about the incident on social platforms, in order to “respect those families who have lost loved ones this evening”.

Police officers and marked patrol cars were stationed at cordons on Thursday night on roads close to the scene of the incident. Air ambulances were also deployed in the immediate response to the incident, while crime officers in white suits could be seen taking pictures of the street.

The South Western Ambulance Service said it was called at just after 6pm on Thursday and responded with a “significant number of resources”, including Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART), multiple ambulances, air ambulances, multiple doctors and senior paramedics.

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In a video posted on Twitter earlier, Mr Pollard said Ford Primary School and St Mark’s Church on Cambridge Road in Keyham would be open from 9am on Friday and he, along with police and local councillors, would be attending to support the community.

He said “time and space” will be needed “to process what has happened tonight”, but “this will be a safe space for the community to come together”.

Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: “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.”