Devastated family of Plymouth mass shooter Jake Davison 'grappling to understand' what happened
17 January 2023, 20:01 | Updated: 18 January 2023, 02:13
The family of Plymouth mass shooter Jake Davison have spoken of their devastation over the tragedy, and say they're 'grappling to understand' what happened.
Davison 22, shot his mum Maxine, 51, dead with a shotgun after a row, before killing four others in an attack which lasted 12-minutes.
Sophie Martyn, 3, her dad, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, all lost their lives on the evening of August 12 2021 in the Keyham area of port city.
Davison, who was an apprentice crane operator, then turned the gun on himself.
Inquests resumed today at Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon Coroner’s Court.
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Josh Davison, the shooter's brother, said the pain caused by the gun attack was indescribable.
“We are grappling to understand and manage our own health, emotions and bereavement following the incident,” Mr Davison said.
“Even deeper than that, we think we share the feelings of despair, hurt and loss of the Martyn, Washington and Shepherd families knowing that it was a member of our family who was responsible for their loss.
“No words can describe the pain or heaviness of feeling this situation has caused.
“Our involvement in this inquest is to help prevent this from happening in future; an event like this cannot and should not ever happen again.
“If we had one wish, it would be that we could turn back time and allow everyone who had a part in the events leading up to this tragedy an opportunity to make changes to prevent it from happening at all.”
In the statement, read by the family’s barrister Nick Stanage, Josh described his mum as a “complicated person and a contrast of many different things”.
“She was thoughtful but impulsive. Reserved and quiet on the one hand, creative, adventurous and able to attract attention, on the other,” he said.
“She was very much an independent, free-spirited soul and really was one of a kind. Sometimes unpredictable and stubborn and very much dancing to the beat of her own drum.”
“I think she was quirky and eccentric, a lovely woman, well-meaning and kind. Mum was also genuine and straight-talking.
“She was polite and never wished to harm anyone but if she didn’t take to someone, she found it hard to hide it.
"You could always rely on her to provide an honest opinion on something.”
The shooting occurred only weeks after Davison’s shotgun and gun licence had been returned to him by Devon and Cornwall Police.
They had been seized in 2020 after concerns were raised with the force's firearms licensing department about his possession of a gun.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has previously launched a criminal probe into the Devon and Cornwall Police force’s firearms licensing unit.
Two members of staff have been served with gross misconduct notices and an officer has been served with a misconduct notice as part of the investigation.
Davison's mother had been struggling to get help for him after becoming concerned about his mental health, reports have suggested.
A previous hearing heard that Ms Davison had reported him to the counter-terrorism Prevent programme.
