Plymouth Shooting: Girl, 3, among dead as gunman Jake Davison used pump action shotgun in Keyham attack

A three-year-old girl was among those killed by Plymouth gunman Jake Davison last night, police say.

Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said the weapon used in the Plymouth shooting was described as a "pump action shotgun" and confirmed a firearm had been recovered from the scene.

Gunman Jake Davison, 22, shot and killed a woman in a house before shooting dead a "very young" girl, her male relative and two others in Plymouth on Thursday evening, police say.

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Mr Sawyer added: "Multiple shots have been fired from a firearm during that six-minute-or-so period.

"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."

Jake Davison turned the gun on himself before firearms officers engaged him and police did not fire any shots, Mr Sawyer said.

Victims’ identities to be released at ‘later time’

Forensic officers in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident.Forensic officers in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident.
Forensic officers in Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident.

Mr Sawyer said the victims' identities would be made public at a later time.

Mr Sawyer praised the response of the emergency services and locals, adding: "The community of Plymouth is strong."

He also urged people not to contact the police unless it was "truly an emergency," adding: "We are now very, very busy."

Mr Sawyer confirmed Davison was a firearms licence holder and said there was "no motive" at present.

Jake Davison posted on Youtube.Jake Davison posted on Youtube.
Jake Davison posted on Youtube.

He added: "We are not considering terrorism or a relationship with any far-right group.

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Mr Sawyer said police would look at Davison's social media output as part of the investigation.

He said: "This is an extraordinarily unusual response by a fellow human being.

"Whether there were mental health issues I cannot say at this time."

An ambulance makes it way into Royal Navy Avenue.An ambulance makes it way into Royal Navy Avenue.
An ambulance makes it way into Royal Navy Avenue.

Videos posted on social media

He said most witnesses were "shocked at what was unfolding before them," but said there was no evidence to suggest Davison was saying anything as he carried out his atrocity.

It comes after it was revealed that Davison spoke of being "beaten down" and "defeated by life" in videos posted online just weeks before the massacre.

Davison, who posted on a YouTube channel under the name Professor Waffle, said he did not have "any willpower to do anything anymore" in a recording dated July 28, and discussed the misogynistic "incel" movement.

He also "liked" a series of videos about guns, and shared posts on Facebook quoting former American president Donald Trump as well pictures of a statue holding a rifle with the US flag in the background.

In an 11-minute video, which appears to be the last posted before Thursday's incident, he refers to difficulties meeting women and struggling to lose weight, as well as saying that, after working in scaffolding when he was younger, he was "never ... the same again" after injuring his ankle.

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He said: "I just don't have any willpower to do anything anymore", later adding that he was so "beaten down and defeated by f****** life".

Davison said he was "still in the same house, same situation, same position" and talked about wanting to regain the "drive and motivation" he once had.

Facebook has confirmed that accounts belonging to Davison have been removed.

A spokesperson for the social network said his presence had been taken down from their platforms under its dangerous individuals and organisations policy, which does not allow mass murderers to be on Facebook or Instagram.

Incel culture

Although saying he did not "clarify" himself as an "incel" - the abbreviation used online for "involuntarily celibate", for those unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one - he talked about "people similar to me have had nothing but themselves".

He also appears to have signed up to "IncelTV" on YouTube, which calls itself a channel for "black pill and lookism content" and has more than 17,000 subscribers. Lookism is described as a prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's appearance.

Incel culture has been associated with killings and acts of violence, particularly in the US.

In America last month, Tres Genco, a 21-year-old from Ohio who described himself as an "incel", was charged with plotting a mass shooting targeting women in university sororities.

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Announcing the decision, the US Justice Department said: "The incel movement is an online community of predominantly men who harbour anger towards women. Incels advocate violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled."

Before signing off in his video, Davison said: "I know it's a movie but I like to think sometimes I'm the Terminator or something. Despite reaching almost total system failure he keeps trying to accomplish his mission."

Davison's Facebook profile suggests he started working at defence and engineering company Babcock International earlier this year. The company declined to comment.

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