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13th Aug 2021

Child under 10 among six fatalities in Plymouth shooting, police confirm

Laura Grainger

The suspected gunman was also one of the six who died.

Six people, including a child under ten, have died of gunshot wounds from a mass shooting in Plymouth yesterday evening.

Devon and Cornwall Police said two females, two males and the suspected gunman had died at the scene in the Keyham area of the city.

Another injured female was brought to hospital, but despite efforts to treat her wounds, she died shortly after.

Local MP Luke Pollard confirmed one of the fatalities was a child under 10 years old, adding that more victims were being treated for injuries in hospital.

Emergency services were called to Biddick Drive shortly after 6pm on Thursday, where people were told to stay inside as the emergency response developed.

Eyewitness Sharron, who lives locally and did not want to give her full name, said what happened was “horrendous and so sad.”

She told BBC News: “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.”

She added that the gunman “proceeded along Royal Navy Avenue still shooting”.

Another witness, Robert Pinkerton, said he “walked around the corner” and “bumped into a bloke” – who was wearing all black – “with a shotgun.”

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

The death toll makes this the worst mass shooting in Britain in over a decade.

The last mass shooting prior to yesterday evening happened in 2010, when 12 people in Cumbria were killed by taxi driver Derrick Bird.