Plymouth shooting: Eyewitness describes coming to face-to-face with gunman Jake Davison

  • Watch eyewitness Peggy Holliday describe seeing the Plymouth gunman

An eyewitness has described the moment she came face-to-face with the Plymouth gunman during his shooting spree.

Peggy Holliday had just finished getting a tattoo in the Keyham area and was walking to a shop when she heard screaming.

She said she saw an incident “unfold in front of me” but did not register the shooter - later identified as 22-year-old Jake Davison - because her brain was in “flight-mode”.

She later sought refuge in a nearby pub, where she said she hid underneath a pool table while Davison carried out his attack.

Jake Davison shot and killed five people, and injured two others, during the attack.

Five people - including a three-year-old girl - were killed during the incident, while a further two were injured. 

‘A living nightmare’

Peggy said: “There was an incident that unfolded in front of me. I couldn’t quite register the shooter’s face. 

“I think my brain was in panic. It all just happened so quickly. I was in complete flight-mode. People were terrified. 

“It was like a living nightmare, like something you see out of the movies. It’s something I will never be able to forget.”

Peggy broke down in tears recalling the attack.

Peggy, who works as an intern at the National Marine Aquarium, described the shooting as “sheer violence”.

“I heard gunshots but I thought they were fireworks,” she continued. 

“A couple of the gunshots went off and I ran opposite a pub and the owner came out and he shouted at me ‘get in here, get in here now!’

“I forward rolled into the pub and I literally clung underneath one of the pool tables for dear life and I froze.

“I said there’s shooting, it’s violent, it’s terrifying - it literally felt like a living nightmare. It felt like I was being hunted.”

Police have urged anyone who has been traumatised by the incident to contact the Victim Support’s National Helpline on 0808 1689 111.