Plymouth shooting: Families' concerns over killer's shotgun licence

The families of five people killed by a gunman in Plymouth have expressed concern over how he was able to legally own a shotgun.

Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother, Maxine Davison, 51, after a row and then shot dead four others in August.

The killings happened weeks after the shotgun and licence had been returned to him by Devon and Cornwall Police.

A pre-inquest hearing in Plymouth heard the families' lawyers had told the coroner their areas of concern.

Ian Arrow, senior coroner for Plymouth and South Devon, told Davison's father, Mark Davison: "It won't surprise you to know they are the manner in which Jake was dealt with prior to the incident and how he came to get the shotgun."

Mr Davison replied: "Yeah, I kicked up a fuss about that too."

Three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, all died on the evening of August 12 this year in the Keyham area of the city.

The apprentice crane operator then turned the shotgun on himself.

Lawyer Patrick Maguire, who represents the Shepherd, Washington and Martyn families, said: "My clients are greatly concerned about how Davison came into possession of the firearm against the backdrop of matters aired at today's hearing."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating how the force approved his application and then later gave him back the licence and shotgun.

Davison applied for a shotgun certificate in July 2017 and, after the application was processed by the force, a certificate was issued to him in January 2018 that was valid for five years.

IOPC regional director David Ford said: "While our investigative work is close to completion, we have followed the evidence as it has emerged and now have a small number of remaining actions to undertake.

"We have provided a preliminary report to the coroner this week and are keeping the families and Devon and Cornwall Police updated throughout our investigation."

The hearing was also told a GP declined to tell police whether Davison should have had a firearms licence when they were considering his application.

Dr Carolyn Adcock, of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, said the GP had written to police "declining to give information because he did not feel he was in a position to be qualified to comment on the personality of a patient to say whether or not they were safe to hold a gun licence".

A man has also come forward to allege he reported to police he was assaulted by Davison outside a supermarket in Plymouth in 2016, which the IOPC is investigating.

A further pre-inquest review will take place on 15 March.

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