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LAST UPDATE | 12 Aug 2021
THERE HAVE BEEN a “number of fatalities” in a “serious firearms incident” in Plymouth, England, police have said.
Police were called to the incident in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area at around 6.10pm this evening. Officers and ambulance staff attended.
“There have been a number of fatalities at the scene and several other casualties are receiving treatment,” Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.
“A critical incident has been declared,” it said.
The area has been cordoned off and police believe the situation is “contained”.
Road closures are in place and people are being asked to avoid the area.
“We are appealing to the public not to speculate or share pictures of the scene on social media or elsewhere,” police said.
Local MP Johnny Mercer tweeted that the incident is “not terror related”.
Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said the situation looked like “a very grim day for our city and our community”.
Pollard tweeted: “Really worrying news coming out of Keyham”, adding: “Please can everyone stay safe, stay indoors and follow police advice.”
The South Western Ambulance Service said it was called at just after 6pm to Keyham.
The ambulance service tweeted: “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.
“We will provide an update here in due course.”
Plymouth City Council said an “awful tragedy has happened in our city tonight”.
In a tweet, the council said: “While we don’t know all of the details, our hearts go out to everyone affected by this terrible incident.”
It called on the public not to speculate or share pictures on social media.
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.”
Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds tweeted: “Truly terrible news. Thinking of the families and friends of those who have died and those injured. Thank you to our remarkable emergency services.
“I’ve been in contact with local representatives to express my support for the whole community of Plymouth on this awful evening.”
Plymouth Argyle FC tweeted: “Our hearts go out to victims of tonight’s tragic incident in our city, alongside their families, friends, and the wider Plymouth community.”
Includes reporting by Press Association
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Jaysus, could you be more cryptic? An “incident”? Was it a bombing? An accident? Alien invasion? (Sky News has more info if you’re struggling!). RIP to the victims of the shooting…
@Peter Peterski: did you even read the first paragraph… It says “serious FIRE ARMS incident”.. The clue is in the words, fire and arms.
@Peter Peterski: Police statements are like that in the UK. They’re only getting the news as it happens.
@JG: not 100% sure of the original story but the journal like to partially update the story over a few hours so you habe to keep going back in and in doing so you boost their adsense revenue. Not a lot of free news apps left, this is how they make their money
@JG: They added it later. Originally it was just “an incident”. Nothing about its nature.
@Peter Peterski: Reminded me of the Troubles when all we’d hear was strange stilted reports about objects and incidents. The Journal usually do update on the go, bound to be more info later.
@To Mt: And if they put the updates in separate articles you’d still have to go back on…would you prefer they waited a designated amount of time? All news sites put up things when the news is breaking and update when needs be.
Either report or don’t
@Sean Ryan: copy and paste from Sky News ha ha
@Sean Ryan: or make sure of what you are reporting. They report as they have more details. When things like this happen rumours are flying everywhere and authorities take their time releasing, often for security reasons or to allow time for relatives etc to be notified. I would rather have accurate news than immediate news. And I would rather know something significant is happening with update to come once clarity emerges than find out something is coming long after the fact. ‘Breaking news’ etc.
Newsflash! Something happened..
5 Dead and Shooter shot dead. Family incident. Poor souls
Thanks, all I saw was the odd statement that “the suspect is not on the run.” Must be a relief that it’s known.
Stabbing & Shooting incidents. Sounds horrendous.
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