The family of one of the victims of the Plymouth shooting said they were “still struggling” to come to terms with the tragic events, a year on.
Stephen Washington59 years old, was one of five people killed by Jake Davison, who turned the gun on himself after Filming for 12 minutes on August 12, 2021.
In a statement, his family said: “Our hearts and thoughts remain with the other families and survivors as we move forward with the search in January.
Stephen Washington, 59, was among those killed in the Keyham shooting
“We miss Stephen every day, and we are still struggling to come to terms with the tragic events of that fateful day. The grandchildren miss him terribly, because they miss the fun games and the sessions. his amusement.”
Davison, 22, also killed Sophie Martyn, three, and her father, Lee, 43 – as well as Kate Shepherd, 66, and his mother, Maxine Davison, 51.
To mark the one-year anniversary, the first responders to the incident will be those attending a private church service on Friday.
The service will take place at St Andrew’s Church ahead of two services – one in Keyham for locals in the area, and one for the wider community at Smeaton’s Tower in Hoe.
From Friday to Sunday, drawings by young people from Keyham will be shown on the Royal Plymouth Theater and Smeaton’s Tower.
Hannah Pooley from Plymouth Together was one of the organizers of the vigil.
“We are trying to do this as carefully as possible,” she said.
“The city needs to show respect and remember what happened and those who want to show their respect want and are welcoming the vigil and some people won’t attend any of the ceremonies. – and that’s perfectly fine, so we want to do it fully.
Three of the five victims of the mass shootings in Plymouth (L/R): Sophie Martyn, her father Lee Martyn, and gunman Maxine Davison’s mother
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A year after Jake Davison killed five people, including a young girl in Plymouth, a resident reflects on what happened.
“There are so many organizations that have come to Keyham and work with the locals right away [after the attack] and they are still working as hard as they are today. “
Ms Pooley told Sky News help will be available later this week.
“There has been support since the event and obviously there could be higher demand around the celebration, but we really want people to reach out and use that support,” she said.
“That includes people getting involved, support for children, families and adults, whatever people feel they need, they can go to community centers and talk to people and they will get the help they need.”
Davison was given his gun license by Devon and Cornwall Police just weeks before the attack.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct has completed its investigation into that decision and other cases – the results of which will be released upon the conclusion of the investigations next year.
