Jake Davison (mass murderer)

On 12 August 2021, a mass shooting occurred in Keyham, Plymouth, England.

The gunman, 22-year-old Jake Davison from Plymouth, shot and killed five people (including his mother) and injured two others before fatally shooting himself.

Devon and Cornwall Police have not identified a motive.

The Home Office announced that it would issue updated guidelines for firearms licence applications.

In February 2023, the inquest jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing of all of the victims.

In the United Kingdom either a firearms certificate (FAC) or a shotgun certificate (SGC) is a legal requirement to own most classes of permitted firearms.

In Great Britain certificates are granted by the local policing authority.

For both certificates the applicant must demonstrate a good reason for owning the particular firearm and undergo a background check.

A SGC also requires certified secure storage.

On 12 August 2021, Jake Davison had a physical altercation with his mother, Maxine, during which he reportedly grabbed her by the throat and would not let her out of a bedroom in their house on Biddick Drive in the Keyham area of Plymouth.

At 18:05 BST (UTC+1), Maxine contacted her sister who subsequently dialled 999.

Between 18:05 and 18:08, Davison twice opened fire with a legally-owned pump-action shotgun, killing his mother.

He then left the house and fired upon a 3-year-old girl and her 43-year-old father in the street, killing them both.

Next, he shot through the front door window of a neighbouring house, injuring a 53-year-old woman and her 33-year-old son, before shooting and killing a 59-year-old man in a nearby park.

At 18:11, Devon and Cornwall Police received reports of shots having been fired in multiple locations.

Davison then walked down Royal Navy Avenue, and went to Henderson Place, where, at 18:13, he shot and fatally wounded a 66-year-old woman outside a hairdresser's and remarked to a passing resident that there was "nothing to worry about, mate".

He continued down Bedford Street, where he entered a parking garage area and verbally threatened members of the public.

He left without firing, backtracking towards Henderson Place.

Shortly before killing himself, Davison was described as "walking like [he] was on patrol, like a soldier with a gun", "[...] the shotgun under his chin", and with a "blank expression".

At 18:23, as further police arrived, Davison shot himself on Henderson Place.

Devon and Cornwall Police and the South Western Ambulance Service were alerted to the incident at 18:11 and 18:12, respectively.

The ambulance service responded with a significant number of resources, including hazardous area response teams, ambulances, specialist paramedics, and air ambulances.

Devon and Cornwall Police stated that officers attended the scene within six minutes of the emergency calls and found the bodies of Davison and four of the victims.

They described the events as a "serious firearms incident" and established thirteen different crime scenes within the cordoned area.

The 66-year-old female victim was treated at Henderson Place for gunshot wounds but later died in Derriford Hospital.

The two survivors received significant but non-life-threatening injuries.

At 21:25, the police reported they believed the incident to be contained.

The gunman was Jake William Davison (21 August 1998 – 12 August 2021), a 22-year-old from Plymouth who worked as an apprentice crane operator at security and defence company Babcock International.

Davison was diagnosed with autism and ADHD as a child and attended Mount Tamar school for special needs children.

In Year 9, his review with Careers South West (CSW) – a mental health guidance counselling organisation – stated that "[Davison] loves guns and he wants to join a gun club. Much of the review was taken up talking about how to get involved with guns–[...] we suggested Army Cadets".

CSW said Davison's mother had called them in November 2016, saying she was worried about her son as he was isolated and obsessed with weapons.

The following month, Davison told CSW that his "real passion" was firearms and he wanted to work in a firearms shop.

A CSW employee raised concerns with their manager that a Prevent referral might need to be made; however, this never occurred as there was "no evidence [Davison] was talking to people who could take advantage of him".

He was a regular visitor to Shetland where he spent long periods of time with his mother's relatives, including his two older siblings; it was there that initial concerns were raised about his mental state.

In 2016, Davison was reported to the police for allegedly attacking a man and his pregnant girlfriend not far from where the shooting would occur; Davison was warned by police but not prosecuted.

A close source to the family said that Davison had recently deteriorated after suffering from mental health problems for most of his life, and that his mother was "begging for help from the authorities but nobody did a welfare check".

During the COVID-19 lockdowns in the eighteen months before the shooting, Davison had accessed a local mental health support charity.

Davison applied for a shotgun certificate in July 2017, in which he declared autism and Asperger syndrome on the form and gave officers permission to contact his GP.

He had been licensed to own a firearm since 2018, and police believe he used a legally-held firearm in the shooting.

Police had removed his shotgun and licence in December 2020 following an assault allegation described as "a row with two youths", but the weapons were returned in early July 2021, a month before the killings.