3-year-old girl among six killed in mass shooting in UK's Plymouth

Six people, including the gunman and a three-year-old girl, were killed in a mass shooting on Thursday evening in Plymouth, a port city in Devon in southwest England, local police confirmed on Friday.

The gunman was identified as Jake Davison, a 22-year-old man who lived locally, Devon and Cornwall Police said in an online statement. He killed himself after carrying out the shooting spree in the Keyham area of Plymouth.

Among the five people killed by Davison was a three-year-old girl, the police said, adding that two people injured at the scene remain in hospital and neither is seriously injured.

"Jake Davison was a licensed firearm holder, the circumstances of which will now be subject to full, independent investigation and scrutiny," read the statement.

Devon and Cornwall Police tweeted earlier that the shooting was not "terrorism-related".

"We believe we have an incident that is domestically related, that has spilled into the street and seen several people within Plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinarily tragic circumstance," Shaun Sawyer, chief constable for Devon and Cornwall Police, told reporters.

"This is a truly shocking and tragic incident," said Sawyer.

"The impact on the local community of Keyham, the city of Plymouth and many communities across the country in which relatives of the deceased live will be felt for many months and years," he added.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in Britain since a 52-year-old taxi driver shot dead 12 people and injured 11 others in Cumbria, England, in 2010.

There has been an outpouring of sympathy and shock following Thursday's shooting.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "My thoughts are with the friends and family of those who lost their lives and with all those affected by the tragic incident in Plymouth last night. I thank the emergency services for their response."

British Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted: "The incident in Plymouth is shocking and my thoughts are with those affected."

Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families and neighbours of those caught up in this nightmare."

Luke Pollard, member of parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said Keyham neighborhood has been "utterly devasted" by the shooting, calling it "the darkest day in Plymouth's history since the end of the second World War."