Plymouth shooting a reminder of how evil things can be on internet, says priest

15 August 2021, 13:04

Parish priest David Way during a service at St Thomas' Church in Plymouth, Devon
Plymouth incident. Picture: PA

Father David Way asked the congregation at St Thomas’ Church in Keyham to pray for those fighting ‘harmful extremism, especially on social media’.

Plymouth’s mass shooting serves as a reminder of “just how evil things can be on the internet and on social media”, a religious figure in the local area has said.

Social media usage by gunman Jake Davison, 22, suggested an obsession with “incel” culture – meaning “involuntary celibate” – as well as an interest in guns and America.

Father David Way, the parish priest at St Thomas’ Church in Keyham, said that while he was not opposed to the internet nor social media, it can be a place for those with extremist views.

In a Sunday service at the church, which is near the scene of Thursday’s atrocity, Father David asked the congregation to pray for those fighting “harmful extremism, especially on social media”.

People attend a service at St Thomas' Church in Plymouth, Devon, where five people were killed by gunman Jake Davison in a firearms incident on Thursday evening
People attend a service at St Thomas’ Church in Plymouth (Ben Birchall/PA)

He told the PA news agency following the service: “It’s a real moment for us to realise just how evil things can be on the internet and on social media.

“I’m not opposed to social media or the internet, it’s been a wonderful tool, churches have survived through the lockdown period by streaming their services.

“But we have to reconnect that these extremist views which we see, and comments which people make to each other, can only end in a cycle of pain.

“Which then can end in this hurtful situation we are in today.”

Father David said there was “absolute shock and bewilderment” from local residents following the incident.

But he added: “We started to see anger come in as we found out about the gun licence and what had taken place.

“What I hope is we are now coming back to thinking about those who have lost loved ones.”

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

AI warning

Essays written with ChatGPT feature repetition of words and ideas – study

A broadband router

Big four broadband firms beaten by smaller rivals in latest Which? survey

A person pressing on the Tik Tok logo on the screen of a smartphone

TikTok to launch online election centres to counter misinformation

A person using a laptop

Up to eight million UK jobs at risk from AI, report says

Smartphone showing apps

One in six adolescents have experienced cyberbullying, global study finds

An Uber Eats driver

Uber Eats driver wins payout over discriminatory facial recognition checks

Rishi Sunak visits Cumbria

Sunak says UK ‘more robust’ on China than most allies

Chinese President state visit – Preparations

Minister calls China ‘security threat’ after UK and US blame Beijing for hacking

China

UK and US accuse China of ‘malicious’ global cyber attacks

A hand on a laptop

Tougher action needed to combat copycat banking websites, says Which?

Dowden

Dowden guarantees UK elections will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks

A woman’s hand pressing a key of a laptop keyboard

Cyber security agency says China behind ‘malicious’ cyber attacks on UK

A young girl uses the TikTok app on a smartphone

TikTok Youth Council holds first meetings on better online safety for teenagers

Margrethe Vestager

EU opens competition investigations into Apple, Google and Meta

Social Media Stock

Some parents coming to regard online harassment of girls as ‘normal’ – report

historisches Werbeplakat fuer den Spielfilm “Terminator Jugdement Day” mit Arnold Schwarzenegger, Berlin.

Hollywood has ‘helped to fan flames of fear about AI’, peers hear