Plymouth shooting: Street pastors helping people in city

Street pastors said they were working around areas in Keyham where tributes had been left for the victims

Street pastors have been spending time in the Keyham area of Plymouth after a mass shooting left six people dead.

Maxine Davison, 51, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, were killed on 12 August, along with Lee Martyn, 43, and daughter Sophie Martyn, three.

Jake Davison, 22, carried out the attack before turning the gun on himself.

The pastors said they were chatting to people in the street or in gardens to see how they were doing.

The volunteers said they expected to be in the area for another week.

'Making ourselves available'

Members of the interdenominational Christian organisation usually patrol the city's pub and club spots, most frequently on weekend nights, offering help to those who need it.

Coordinator Roy Beaumont said they were doing their best to try to help people to try to come to terms with the tragedy.

He said: "We're just walking around slowly and making ourselves available to anyone who might want to talk, or express their feelings, or unburden themselves a bit; especially around the areas where the cards and flowers and toys have been laid."

In the 12-minute attack, Davison shot his 51-year-old mother Maxine Davison, also known as Maxine Chapman, before killing Sophie Martyn, aged three, and her father Lee Martyn, aged 43.

He then killed Stephen Washington, 59, in a nearby park before shooting 66-year-old Kate Shepherd, who died at Derriford Hospital. He also shot and wounded a 33-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman before turning the gun on himself.

Tributes to the victim have included flowers and other items left in the part of the city they were killed, a national minute's silence, and a church service in the city .