Western Morning News (Saturday)
West grieves for victims of horrific shooting
Girl aged three among five killed by gunman in Plymouth
THE Westcountry was today grieving the appalling loss of life in a mass shooting in Plymouth which saw a gunman kill five people, including his own mother and a three-year-old girl, before turning the weapon on himself.
Messages expressing shock and sorrow have come from politicians, community leaders and the wider public as churches in the city opened their doors to people following the tragedy, and flowers were left at the scene.
Police have confirmed that dockyard apprentice Jake Davison, 22, shot and killed his 51-year-old mother, a three-yearold girl, a man aged 43, a 59-year-old man and a woman, aged 66, in a shooting spree which left others injured and has shocked the city and the nation.
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, of Devon and Cornwall Police, described the shootings as “truly shocking” and said they had been witnessed by members of the public, who he urged to seek support.
Flags were being flown at half-mast in Plymouth. Johnny Mercer, Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, called it one of the city’s “darkest days for many, many years”.
THE Westcountry was today grieving the horrific loss of life in a mass shooting in Plymouth which saw a gunman kill five people including a three-year-old girl before turning the weapon on himself.
Police have confirmed that Jake Davison, 22, shot and killed a 51-year-old woman at a house in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth on Thursday evening before going outside and “immediately” shooting dead the girl and her male relative, aged 43.
He moved along Biddick Drive, where he aimed and shot at two local residents – a man aged 33 and a 53-year-old woman – who received significant injuries that are not currently believed to be life-threatening.
Davison then entered a nearby park, where he killed a man, aged 59, before shooting a woman, aged 66, on Henderson Place.
Eye-witnesses have told police how Davison then turned the gun on himself.
Police named the victims yesterday afternoon as Jake Davison’s mother Maxine Davison, 51, also known as Maxine Chapman; threeyear-old Sophie Martyn and her father Lee Martyn, 43; Stephen Washington, 59 and Kate Shepherd, 66, who was injured at the scene and died later at Derriford Hospital. A spokesperson said all the deceased lived locally in the Keyham area.
In a press conference in Plymouth yesterday, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer of Devon and Cornwall Police said the force received “multiple” calls about the incident at 6.11pm.
Armed and unarmed officers arrived at the scene within six minutes and discovered Davison’s body a short time later, with this logged by police at 6.23pm.
Mr Sawyer told reporters that no motive has yet been identified for the attacks.
Mr Sawyer described the shootings as “truly shocking” and said they had been witnessed by members of the public, who he urged to seek support.
“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,” he said.
A weapon – described by witnesses as a pump-action shotgun – was recovered from the scene.
Mr Sawyer confirmed that Davison had held a firearms licence since at least 2020 but it was not yet known whether that firearm was used during the incident.
“Multiple shots have been fired from a firearm during that six-minute or so period,” Mr Sawyer told reporters. “There are some 13 scenes and potentially more scenes.
“There are therefore five people of Plymouth who have lost their lives overnight – and Mr Davison himself – including a particularly young child.”
He said officers were working with the families of victims, who he described as being “throughout the UK”.
Detectives are examining Davison’s social media output as part of their investigation, Mr Sawyer confirmed.
The killer appeared to post on a YouTube account under the name Professor Waffle just weeks before the massacre about how he was “beaten down” and “defeated by life”.
His channel was subscribed to gun-related accounts.
Mr Sawyer said he could not say “at this time” whether Davison had mental health issues, but added: “This is an extraordinarily unusual response by a fellow human being.”
“We are not considering terrorism or a relationship with any far-right group,” he confirmed.
Officers are working with the Metropolitan Police to investigate what happened.
Mr Sawyer told reporters that witnesses were “shocked at what was unfolding before them” and there was no evidence to suggest Davison was saying anything as he carried out the atrocity.
The chief constable urged people not to contact police unless it was “truly an emergency” as the force was “very, very busy”.
On Friday, forensic officers in protective clothing could be seen conducting fingertip searches at the scene, while a coroner’s ambulance was filmed leaving the area.
A large yellow tent was set up in the area, with several uniformed officers posted around the cordon.
Mr Sawyer confirmed that it took “several hours” before police were able to tell residents that the incident had concluded on Thursday night.
“We were searching to see whether this was a lone individual, whether there were other individuals,” he told reporters. “This was a very fast, developing scene.”
He told how members of the public were evacuated “primarily to ensure that there were not other persons who had been shot, injured or killed in the neighbouring premises”.
The incident is the first mass
shooting in Britain since June 2010, when taxi driver Derrick Bird killed 12 people and injured 11 others in Cumbria.
Plymouth City Council said a minute’s silence will be held in Plymouth on Monday morning at 11am as a mark of respect to those who have lost their lives. Books of condolence are available for people to sign at St Mark’s Church in Sanctuary Close, Ford; St Thomas Church in Royal Navy Road, Keyham; The Council House, Armada Way, and Ford Primary School, Cambridge Road. There is also an online book of condolence https://www. plymouth.gov.uk/onlinebookcondolence