Plymouth shooting: Killer given gun licence back weeks before attack

Jake Davison, who shot and killed five people, had shotgun certificate revoked after assault allegation last year

The police will face an inquiry over its decision to return a gun licence to the Plymouth attacker just a month before he killed five people in a shooting spree.

Jake Davison, 22, had his shotgun certificate revoked in September following an allegation of assault. Witnesses said that he used a pump-action shotgun during his rampage on Thursday in the Keyham area of the city, although police have not confirmed this.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into Devon and Cornwall Police’s decision to hand the licence back.

A three-year-old girl and her father were named on Friday as being among the five victims of the attack. Davison gunned down his mother, Maxine, 51, in their home before shooting Lee Martyn, 43, and his daughter Sophie on their doorstep in an attack that lasted six minutes before he took his own life.

Mr Martyn was returning home from a walk when Davison attacked. The gunman then went to a nearby park where he shot dead Stephen Washington, 59. He then continued to Henderson Place and shot Kate Shepherd, 66, who later died from her injuries.

Hundreds of people gathered on Friday evening to pay their respects to the victims at a candle lit vigil near to the site of the shooting.

Local Neighbourhood Watch chairman Kevin Sproston, who organised the vigil said, said: “The community wanted something to mark their respects.

Maxine Davison was killed at her home by her son, Jake ( )

“People are feeling sombre, but I think they find strength together and in this turn out and how everyone is looking after each other and checking up on each other.

“My house is just a few yards away from where it’s been cordoned off.

“This is not a quick fix for our community. I’ve spoken to young kids that have witnessed horrific things. That’s deep scars that are going to take support. That’s what we will do.”

Tributes poured in for the victims – dozens of flowers, cards and soft toys have been left close to the scene.

One note read: “Rest in peace. Thoughts and prayers with you all. A tragic loss. Such beautiful souls. Love to all.”

A friend of Mr Martyn said: “You were such a kind selfless gentleman who put everyone before yourself, we have shared many memories together. I will never forget the things in life you have done for me, you will forever be in my heart.”

Davison described himself as an “incel”, and posted a series of videos online bemoaning the fact that he had not lost his virginity as a teenager.

One neighbour and a friend of the Davison family said that the killer had fallen out with his mother over his misogynistic views.

Lee Martyn, 43, and his three-year-old daughter Sophie, were among the victims ( )

The neighbour said: “Maxine and Jake used to be close. You’d always see him helping her with the shopping at Lidl, but they started to clash a lot. Jake was very quiet growing up. He was a troubled soul.

“He got into guns and he knew everything there was to know about them.”

The chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Shaun Sawyer, said: “We believe we have an incident that is domestically related, that has spilled into the street and seen several people in Plymouth losing their lives in extraordinarily tragic circumstances,” adding that “multiple shots have been fired from a firearm during that six-minute or so period”.

Davison’s social media profiles show he had a strong interest in American gun culture and followed campaigns for the ban on machine guns to be lifted in the United States.

Locals to Keyham reported that Davison would often put on an American accent, such was his obsession with the country.

A gun was recovered from the scene, but police have not yet confirmed whether it is the firearm that Davison was licensed to own.

Witnesses described it as a “pump-action shotgun”.

Police are now investigating comments that the gunman made on social media prior to the incident. The killer had made comments online relating to the “incel” movement, in which men who describe themselves as “involuntary celibates”, or “incels”, and hold aggressively anti-female views, promote the idea that women are to blame for their inability to find a sexual partner.

The movement has been linked to a number of violent attacks around the world.

A vigil in Plymouth on Friday night for the victims (Getty Images)

One family friend claimed in a post on social media that the killer’s father had become concerned about his son’s mental health, and had tried to access help but had been rebuffed by doctors.

Armed police arrived in Keyham within six minutes of multiple phone calls from the public describing a gunman on the loose at around 6pm on Thursday evening.

One eyewitness wrote on social media: “There’s [a man] on the rampage in my cul-de-sac with a real gun and he’s already shot two people.

“They are laying on the ground. One is dead – blood everywhere. I’m shaking like a leaf.”

Another said: “The guy shot members of his family then went out onto the street.”

A witness called Sharon, who lives near Biddick Drive where the incident took place, said: “Firstly, there was shouting, followed by gunshots – three, possibly four to begin with.

“This was when the shooter kicked in the door of a house and randomly started shooting. He ran from the house, shooting as he ran, and proceeded to shoot at a few people in Linear Park up from the drive.”

Another neighbour, who gave his name as Philip, said: “I know a guy who lives [in Biddick Drive] and he came home late and he had to walk past the body on the pavement.

“He didn’t know initially what it was but when he got closer there was this big black mound, with a black cover over it, covered in blood. He said it was on the pavement at 7pm.”

Robert Pinkerton, 54, said he had “bumped into a bloke with a shotgun” after he heard a “loud bang”.

Mr Pinkerton saw an injured woman in the doorway of a hairdresser’s and a man trying to give her medical help.