Probe into police return of Plymouth gunman's firearms licence

Police will be investigated over their return of a shotgun and firearms certificate to Jake Davison just a month before he launched a killing spree in Plymouth.

Davison was earlier suspended from holding the items following an allegation of assault, but Devon and Cornwall lifted the ban last month.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it will examine why the force decided to return the items to Davison, who killed five people – including his mother and a three-year-old girl – on Thursday, before turning the gun on himself.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Davison has family links to Shetland, where his father worked as a fisherman.

People leave flowers in the Keyham area of Plymouth, where six people - including the offender - died in a shooting spree on Thursday evening

Davison, 22, shot his 51-year-old mother Maxine Davison, also known as Maxine Chapman, at a house in Biddick Drive, in the Keyham area of the city.

He then went into the street and shot dead Sophie Martyn, three, and her father, Lee Martyn, aged 43.

He killed Stephen Washington, 59, in a nearby park, before shooting Kate Shepherd, 66, before turning the gun on himself.

Reports have suggested Davidson spent time in the Shetland islands as a child.

Devon and Cornwall Police have named those that died as three-year-old Sophie Martyn and her father Lee Martyn, 43; Stephen Washington, 59; Kate Shepherd, 66; and Maxine Davison, 51, the gunman's mother

It’s understood that his mother Maxine and fisherman father Mark lived there for a time in the 1990s and his older siblings were born there.

The family moved back to Plymouth where Davison was born but it’s understood he spent time on Shetland with other relatives.

Prior to the killing spree Davison, a crane operator, posted hate-filled online tirades about single mothers and his own mother in particular, calling her “vile, dysfunctional and chaotic”.

He also posted videos expressing despair about the future and frustrations about failing to lose weight and find a girlfriend. He followed an online group for Incels, or ‘involuntary celibates’, who believe they have no chance of finding a partner.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said it will examine why Devon and Cornwall Police last month returned a firearms licence and weapon to gunman Jake Davison after they were removed following an allegation of assault in December 2020

Police have come under criticism that none of the killer’s social media posts seemed to have been taken into account when restoring his gun licence.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Nazir Afzal, former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said: “It’s not just about the fact that the gun was returned to him, his licence was restored.

“In the interim there were all these social media posts talking about the violence he believed in or felt was necessary, how he felt about women.

“None of that seems to have been taken into account.”

When asked if the police might not have been aware of Davison’s social media posts, Mr Afzal said: “That must be the case, I would hope that’s the case.

“If they were aware then they have got even more questions to be asked.”

Around 70 floral tributes have been left outside a Lidl supermarket close to where the shootings happened in Keyham.

Green heart-shaped balloons bearing the names of the five victims have been tied to a nearby railing.

Mourners have also left teddy bears and candles among the bouquets, some of which have been left by civic leaders.

Lord Mayor of Plymouth councillor Terri Beer wrote: “My deepest sympathy goes out to the families, friends and loved ones of those from our community who have been lost, injured and touched by this tragic event.”

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