Several people were violently killed in Plymouth, England. The police do not classify the incident as terror. Many questions about the background are still completely open.
Plymouth – According to police, six people were killed in an act of violence in the southern English city of Plymouth. According to media reports, an unspecified number of people were injured.
The alleged perpetrator was among the dead, the Devon and Cornwall Police tweeted early Friday morning. All victims – three men and three women – were shot dead. According to officially unconfirmed media reports, a small child was also among the dead.
The investigators initially did not provide any information about the background to the bloody act on Thursday evening. However, the authorities did not classify the incident as a terrorist act, as a police spokeswoman for the German Press Agency confirmed. This was later confirmed by the police on Twitter.
Shots and large-scale operations
An eyewitness who lives near the crime scene told the BBC that there were several shots. An attacker kicked the door of a house and started shooting. Then he continued to shoot outside. Both the police and rescue workers were deployed in the region with a large number of forces in the early evening. A local BBC reporter reported on countless emergency vehicles and helicopters.
The British Home Secretary Priti Patel expressed her condolences to those affected by the alleged acts of violence and called on the population to remain calm. “The incident in Plymouth is shocking and my thoughts are with those affected,” wrote Patel on Twitter Thursday evening. Opposition leader Keir Starmer also expressed his condolences to those affected. Local MPs urged residents not to share pictures or speculation on social media.
Local Labor MP Luke Pollard said late that evening on Twitter that the shooting was over, but some victims were still under treatment. The death of a child in the shooting had him “devastated”. dpa
