Two years on from the Plymouth shooting
People continue to reflect following the incident on 12 August 2021
Today marks two years since the shootings in Plymouth.
On 12 August 2021, five people were killed and two were injured by gunman Jake Davison in Keyham, before he turned the shotgun on himself.
An inquest was held earlier this year, in which the jury returned a verdict of "unlawful killing" of all of the victims.
Two years on, people continue to remember the lives of Maxine Davison, Sophie Martyn, Lee Martyn, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd.
Those living in Keyham have been reflecting. David tells us that everyone is still thinking of the victims and their families: "It's just terrible. It has affected the community in such a way that my wife won't go into Biddick Drive park anymore. It's just shocking."
Another person in the area said: "You accept it as one of these things that's one in a million, it just doesn't happen down here."
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP, Luke Pollard, has praised the city for how they have supported each other since the shootings, saying he is "enormously proud".
He tells us that we need to make sure that a tragedy like it never happens again: "I speak to some of the families that are involved on a regular basis and I know that throughout all the loss, the thing that is guiding them is the genuine hope that no one else goes through what they have been through.
"But it's not just those that lost people, we have a family who were shot and survived, we've got hundreds of eyewitnesses in our community, many of them children who are now growing up with those images in their head trying to process what they saw."
Mr Pollard adds that we need to look after the whole community: "In the days after this we said, 'we will be there for you' and they can't be empty words, they need to be a long-term commitment to that community to reduce the worst effects of this tragedy."
Victim Support say support continues to be available for anyone impacted by the shootings.
Heather Welch is their Area Manager for Devon and Cornwall. She tells us there’s no time limit on the help they can give:
"We understand that even months and years on from such an impactful experience as this, it’s going to affect people and it will affect how they respond to fresh challenges and traumas in their life as they move forward; as well as how they manage the effect of previous traumatic experiences that happened before the shootings."
As well as 24/7 support over the phone and online, Victim Support also have information guides on a virtual platform called My Support Space and there is one on there specifically for Keyham.