‘Licence to kill’: Victims’ families hit out at police failings that led to ‘pure evil’ Plymouth incel gunman killing five people

Police were already aware Jake Davison had a history of violence and knew that aged 12 he had assaulted two teachers

The families of five people, including a three-year-old girl, have hit out at the police failings that gave an incel gunman a ‘licence to kill’ their loved ones in a brutal rampage.

An inquest jury concluded on Monday that the four adults and young child shot by Keyham gunman Jake Davison were unlawfully killed.

In just eight minutes Davison killed his mother Maxine, 51, and then shot dead three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66.

He then turned the weapon upon himself as he was confronted by an unarmed police officer on August 12 2021 in Keyham, Plymouth.

Jurors at a long-running inquest held at Exeter Racecourse gave their conclusions on Monday afternoon, ruling each victim was unlawfully killed.

The inquest heard the 22-year-old legally held a shotgun certificate and weapon having been obsessed with firearms from a young age due to a trait in autism of developing a “special interest”.

He applied to Devon and Cornwall Police for a shotgun certificate in July 2017 aged 18, saying he wanted to go clay pigeon shooting with his uncle.

As part of the application process Davison had declared his autism and Asperger’s but when police sought relevant information from his GP, the doctor declined to provide any as it was not mandatory.

The police granted the application in January 2018 to last five years.

Later that year the apprentice crane operator bought a black Weatherby pump-action shotgun which he kept at home in Biddick Drive.

A Weatherby pump action shotgun (top) used by Jake Davison next to a standard sporting style 12 - gauge over - under twin barrel shotgun (below) (PA)

In a statement released after the inquest the families of Davison’s victims said his actions that day were “an act of pure evil”, which were “facilitated and enabled by a series of failings and incompetence from the people and organisations that are supposed to keep us safe”.

They said: “It is beyond us how Davison, a man with a known history of violence, mental health issues, and with no real need to own a firearm, was granted a licence to possess a gun in the first place.

“Warning signs were ignored and a licence to kill was granted.”

Police were already aware Davison had a history of violence and knew that aged 12 he had assaulted two teachers and aged 13 had punched a pupil at the special school he attended.

Aged 17 he was involved in a domestic verbal argument with his father Mark and was also suspected of an assault outside a Tesco store in 2016.

In September 2020, Davison was captured on CCTV punching a 16-year-old boy up to nine times in a skate park and slapping their 15-year-old female friend after another boy called him a “fat c***”.

A street cleaner in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth, Devon, where five people were killed by gunman Jake Davison (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Archive)

Detectives did not know he was a firearms holder and put him on the deferred charge Pathfinder scheme instead of prosecution.

It was only two months later a concerned Pathfinder worker alerted police and the shotgun and certificate were seized.

But just five weeks before the killings, they were handed back to Davison.

Witnesses to the shootings recalled seeing the smirking gunman on his rampage and dialled 999 after hearing gunshots.

Davison left Biddick Drive and walked into the nearby Linear Park and killed dogwalker Mr Washington.

Mrs Shepherd was fatally shot outside a hair salon on Henderson Place.

As two unarmed officers tried to save her life, Davison returned with the shotgun nestled under his chin.

Risking his own life, Pc Zach Printer rushed towards him to try to make him surrender but Davison pulled the trigger – with his death captured on the officer’s body worn camera.

The five-week inquest heard there were multiple failures within the firearms licensing unit and staff were not using “professional curiosity” to scrutinise applications properly.

They had also not received nationally recognised training, which had been recommended in the wake of the Dunblane tragedy.

The decision-making system was “fundamentally flawed” and was in place for at least five years, the inquest heard.

Chief Superintendent Roy Linden, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said Davison should never have been granted the certificate.

“Jake Davison should not have had a licence. Jake Davison should not have had a licence again in 2020. For that, we very much apologise. It should not have happened,” he said.

Timeline of killings

Jake Davison killed five people in an incident that lasted around between eight minutes on the evening of August 12 2021. Here is a timeline of events:

3pm

Jake Davison leaves work at the dockyard to walk home.

3.22pm

Davison returns home to 17 Biddick Drive where he lives with his mother Maxine Davison.

He is seen on a neighbour’s CCTV arriving home.

5.20pm

Mrs Davison leaves home for a dental appointment.

5.35pm

She returns having got the wrong date for her appointment.

6pm

Lee Martyn and his daughter Sophie walk along Royal Navy Avenue through Linear Park into Biddick Drive.

Sophie is seen holding her father’s hand while pushing a buggy.

6.05pm

Mrs Davison calls her sister Marlene Hill reporting she and her son are having an argument.

6.08pm

A neighbour hears two shots. Mrs Davison is shot twice – once from two metres and once from one metre. Davison leaves his home with the gun and catches up with the Martyns.

6.09pm

Davison shoots Mr Martyn three times from 20 metres and closer. Sophie is shot once from one metre away.

Kate Shepherd exits the Lidl supermarket on Wolseley Road and walks down Henderson Place towards the Blush hair salon.

Neighbours make 999 calls to the police, reporting: “I’m at Biddick Drive, please he’s just shot somebody.”

Another neighbour reports: “I’m at my kitchen window, heard a bang, and the person who done it lives at 17 of this street, think his name is Jake something. I heard a bang and thought what the hell was that and he ran down, saw him pumping his gun.”

Another 999 call reports: “He’s gone up the back with an automatic weapon, looks like a black automatic rifle”

The operator asks: “Like an AK-47?”

The man replies: “Yeah you’ve got it. Think he might have killed his mother as well, his door is open…”

Another call reports: “He’s gone up the road, he’s shooting everywhere… gone up towards Henderson Place.”

Davison then shoots at a house in Biddick Drive injuring two people, mother and son Michelle Parker and Ben Parsonage, when they opened their front door to see what was going on.

6.10pm

Davison walks into Linear Park, which is adjacent to Biddick Drive, and shoots Stephen Washington twice – once from a distance of 10 metres to 16 metres and once less than three metres.

A bystander in the park, known as Snakey Path, sees him and runs away after being warned by wife who had heard the shootings.

Davison walks out of Linear Park, turns left onto Royal Navy Avenue and heads towards Henderson Place.

He is seen on CCTV carrying the shotgun in his right hand and wearing shorts and T-shirts.

6.11pm

As Mrs Shepherd walks along Henderson Place, Davison from the direction of Royal Navy Avenue walks towards her and crosses the street.

CCTV shows him with a shotgun in his right hand.

6.12pm

Mrs Hill calls 999 on behalf of her sister, telling the operator: “Just had a call from my sister, her son has mental health issues.

“He’s locked her in the bedroom grabbed her by the throat not letting her out.”

6.13pm

Davison shoots Mrs Shepherd in the abdomen from a distance of no more than three metres outside the Blush salon.

This was captured on CCTV and her shopping bag is seen falling to the ground.

Davison continues walking and heads into nearby Bedford Street.

6.14pm

Dashcam in a car captures a man in the street making a 999 call. The man reports: “We heard a gunshot go off near Blush hairdressers.”

6.16pm

Two unarmed police officers arrive at Henderson Place and begin first aid on Mrs Shepherd.

Davison threatens witnesses in Bedford Street and at this point he only has two cartridges left in his shotgun.

An ambulance arrives to treat Mrs Shepherd.

6.22pm

Davison walks back down Bedford Street towards Henderson Place and CCTV captures him walking with the shotgun positioned under his chin.

6.24pm

On the corner of Bedford Street and Henderson Place Davison shoots himself dead as he strides down the road.

As he is doing this, a second police car pulls up.

Police bodycam footage records Pc Zach Printer witnessing Davison shooting himself in the head as he approaches him.

Pc Printer says: “A male has just shot himself in the head on Henderson Place.”

The final incident is also captured on a camera inside the emergency ambulance attending to Mrs Shepherd.

A single cartridge was recovered from inside the weapon, a black Weatherby pump-action shotgun.

The four adults and one child killed by Jake Davison in August 2021 were described as loved and missed by their families.

Pen portraits of Maxine Davison, 51, Sophie Martyn, three, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, were read at their inquests.

– Maxine Davison, 51

Maxine Davison was described as a “breezy, brilliantly quirky, firecracker of a mum” to her children Zoe, Josh and Jake.

She was remembered as reserved and quiet but also creative, adventurous and an “independent free-spirited soul”.

The mother-of-three worked as a volunteer due to her caring commitments to Jake, who had autism, and she was “absolutely devoted” to him, her family said.

– Sophie Martyn, three

Sophie was a “typical redhead, who was in charge, fierce and unwavering”, her mother Rebecca Martyn said.

The little girl had taken her favourite toy buggy, which she had placed a teddy in, with her as she walked with father Lee in Biddick Drive on August 12 in 2021.

She enjoyed dressing up as characters from the Disney film Frozen, the inquest was told.

– Lee Martyn, 43

Lee Martyn was a “family man” who loved being a “fun dad”, building dens and watching films with his children Sophie and Cayden.

The devoted husband, who married wife Rebecca in September 2009, trained as a carpenter/fitter and worked for a local yacht manufacturer.

Mr Martyn, described as “utterly adored” by his children, was an Everton supporter who was himself a talented footballer.

– Stephen Washington, 59

Photo issued by Devon and Cornwall Police of Stephen Washington who died in the firearms incident at Keyham (PA)

Stephen Washington was a full-time carer for his disabled wife Sheila, who he had been married to for almost 40 years.

The father-of-four, also a grandfather, was an animal lover who was walking his two dogs, husky-cross Poppy and husky Drift on the evening of August 12.

His wife said she was still finding it hard to come to terms with his death, adding: “Never could I imagine losing him in such a horrendous circumstance.”

– Kate Shepherd, 66

Kate Shepherd and husband John had just celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary when she died and had become grandparents for the first time a few weeks before.

She was described as a “vibrantly courageous artist, a fiercely protective mother, a loyal wife, a kind friend, and a great aunty”.

Mr Shepherd told the inquest: “I have made thousands of decisions in my life, but the best by far was marrying Kate.”