Jake Davison: Plymouth gunman posted YouTube videos before shootings
13 August 2021, 13:30 | Updated: 13 August 2021, 16:09
The Plymouth gunman Jake Davison described being "defeated by life" in videos posted online weeks before his shooting spree.
Police confirmed on Tuesday morning that the 22-year-old had killed a "very young girl" and her male relative as well as three others on Thursday evening.
Posting on YouTube, Davison discussed the misogynistic "incel" movement (involuntarily celibate), liked videos about guns and shared posts on Facebook quoting former US president Donald Trump. Police said no motive had yet been identified.
Davison referred to difficulties meeting women, struggling to lose weight and how his life was "never… the same again" after injuring his ankle while working in scaffolding during an 11 minute video.
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He said: "I just don't have any willpower to do anything anymore", adding he was "beaten down and defeated by f****** life".
The gunman also said he was in the "same house, same situation" and wanted to find "drive and motivation".
He did not "clarify" himself as an "incel", a culture associated with killings and acts of violence, especially in the US.
Two females and two males died in the shootings. Another female was treated at the scene but later died in hospital, while two other people have significant but non-life threatening injuries.
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Davison took his own life and officers did not fire a shot in the incident, Devon and Cornwall Police's Chief Constable said on Friday.
The shootings have horrified the nation. Boris Johnson tweeted: "My thoughts are with the friends and family of those who lost their lives and with all those affected by the tragic incident in Plymouth last night. I thank the emergency services for their response."
Davison, a firearms licence holder, had also signed up to a YouTube channel which said it contained "black pill and lookism" content.
Lookism is described as prejudice on the ground of someone's appearance while "black pill" philosophy is considered to be a view where someone's success with the opposite sex is determined at birth.
Davison's Facebook profile suggests he had begun working at Babcock International, a defence and engineering company. The business declined to comment.
YouTube confirmed Davison's account had been taken down because of a violation of its offline behaviour policy, while Facebook also said accounts belonging to him have been removed.
With the identities of those dead and injured yet to be confirmed, Devon and Cornwall Police have set up a phone line for those worried about their loved ones.
You can contact the casualty bureau on 01752 487880
