Plymouth gunman granted firearms licence despite terrorism grooming fears

20 January 2023 , 16:51

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Jake Davison, 22. gunned down five people including his own mother and a three-year-old before taking his own life (Image: PA)

Plymouth gunman Jake Davison was granted a firearms licence despite a childhood obsession with guns that sparked concerns he was being groomed by terrorists, an inquest heard.

Davison murdered five people including a toddler and his own mum, before turning the gun on himself, in a sickening rampage through the streets of Keyham in 2021.

An ongoing inquest into his death has raised questions over how he was granted a firearm licence.

Today, it was heard that Davison was approved for the licence by Devon and Cornwall Police in 2017, when he was just 18, for the purpose of clay pigeon shooting.

At the time he had self-declared his medical conditions - stating he had autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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The gunman's mum Maxine (Facebook)

Stephen Washington, who was also killed in the shootings (PA)

The licence was granted despite a concern that Davison had an “unhealthy” obsession with guns - and his mother said he would often speak to “rednecks in America”.

This led to Careers South West taking “unprecedented action” to try and refer him to the government’s counter-terrorism programme Prevent, back in 2016.

But it was decided Davison did not meet the criteria for a referral and a year later he got his licence, the inquest heard.

Speaking from the witness stand on the fourth day of the inquest, Chief Superintendent Roy Linden of Devon and Cornwall Police said the firearm officers who handle applications had "no specific training" in doing so.

The street in the Keyham area of Plymouth where the massacre took place (PA)

He also described an “absence of effective training” that was highlighted in a heavily critical 2015 UK firearms licensing review.

This report referenced "inconsistencies" with the way firearms applications were being handled and accused some forces of "working outside Home Office guidance."

It criticised a lack of "basic scrutiny" and added: "We can not make our position any clearer. It is highly likely if changes are not affected, there will be another tragedy."

Chief Supt replied: “I am all too familiar with that paragraph sadly.”

Legal representative for the victims' families, Dominic Adamson KC, asked Chief Supt Linden: "The risk is so obvious. The whole point about firearms licensing is it's there to prevent weapons being in the possession of people who are not fit to have them and can not be trusted?"

The Weatherby pump action shotgun used by Davison (top) next to a police issue tactical shotgun (below) (PA)

The officer confirmed that was "correct."

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The inquest heard it was down to individual forces to provide training and there was "no comprehensive syllabus" or "checklist of things" those working in the firearms licensing unit must know.

Chief Supt Linden added the “majority of the staff did not complete a course” and it wasn’t checked by management.

He said it was difficult to “write policy to cover every eventuality” but added: "There was no syllabus, no separate training programme, no dedicated training of firearms enquiry officers.

"The reality is that such training as there was, was through mentoring and looking at what other officers were doing in processing applications."

The current policy, implemented in 2018, means that anyone involved in an incident of violence or had mental health issues should have their guns seized as well as their certificate and any ammunition.

Ammunition seized from the home of Davison including a 12-gauge 'buckshot' (left) and 12 gauge 'trap' cartridge (right) (PA)

Incel mass murderer Davison was captured on CCTV stalking the streets of Plymouth

The inquest heard local police force teams were responsible for deciding whether to grant or refuse licences.

It also heard from the police chief how there had been issues dealing with a large amount of applications due to “backlogs” and a “shortage of staff”.

In previous days, the inquest was told of details of the eight minute killing spree which began when Davison shot his own mother Maxine, 51, at their home on August 12, 2021.

In the minutes that followed Davison, an apprentice crane operator, shot dead strangers Sophie Martyn, three, and her father Lee Martyn, 43, on the street as they were walking their dog.

He then killed Stephen Washington, 59, a full-time carer for his wife, by shooting him in the chest in a nearby park as he walked his two dogs.

Artist Katherine Shepherd, 66, was then shot, and later died, at Derriford Hospital from a gunshot wound to her stomach.

A 33-year-old man, and a 53-year-old woman, were also shot and wounded before Davison turned the gun on himself and ended his own life at the age of 22.

The inquest, at Exeter Racecourse, continues.

Tom Bevan