Last Thursday, when a lone gunman murdered five people before turning the gun on himself, was Britain’s worst mass shooting in a decade. The fact that it happened here in Devon makes it all the more shocking.

We will never truly know what motivated someone to carry out such an atrocity, but it appears that he was under the influence of some of humanity’s darkest urges, encouraged by internet chat rooms where a warped view of the world pits men against women.

If though the appalling and tragic events that unfolded in Biddick Drive, Keyham, and in mass shooting incidents the world over, are an example of some of the worst behaviour that humanity has to offer, then Britain’s response is an example of people at their best.

My team and I were on the scene with our community engagement van the morning after the event. We took with us thousands of leaflets which had been printed specifically for Keyham residents by a local company that dropped everything to help. The leaflets gave contact details of how those traumatised could get expert practical and emotional support, 24 hours a day.

We spoke to those who heard the gunshots, at first thinking it was fireworks before realising with panic what was happening. We spoke to people who saw the victims, saw their neighbours take great risks to comfort and help the injured, knew and loved those who are tragically no longer with us.

As the person responsible for delivering victim care in Devon and Cornwall, I know that expert help delivered in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event can be hugely beneficial. That’s why I want to say a huge thank you to those volunteers who doubled or tripled the impact of our operation over the last few days. The children who put leaflets through their neighbours’ doors, the community social media group that shared the Victim Care contact details on a page followed by thousands of residents of the area.

We know that while generally very safe, there is an increasing and worrying problem with violence in this country and Devon and Cornwall are not immune from this trend. That is why, with funding from households across the force area, the Chief Constable and I set up the Serious Violence Prevention Programme a year ago.

My office will now be working to help the people of Plymouth, and particularly Keyham, recover as best as they can. There will be a particular focus on the children who witnessed these horrific murders, with an expectation that there will be services specifically in place for them this week.

I will also be ensuring the Chief Constable has the resources to carry out a thorough investigation into what happened. We also need to explore any potential flaws in the country’s firearms licensing, and what recognition is required to a new emerging ideology of hatred to women that goes beyond misogyny.

If you have been affected by this incident or any other, free confidential help and advice is on offer from Victim Support, 24 hours a day on the phone at 0808 168 9111 or over webchat at www.victimsupport.org.uk