Plymouth shooting: Gunman's family 'grappling to understand' what happened

Tributes to five people killed by a gunman in Plymouth have been heard on the opening day of their inquests.

Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine, 51, and then shot dead four others, including a young girl, in the Keyham area of Plymouth in August 2021.

A statement from Josh Davison, the gunman's brother, said his whole family was appalled by what had happened.

He said: "An event like this cannot and should not ever happen again."

Three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Katherine, also known as Kate, Shepherd, 66, all died on the evening of 12 August.

The jury inquests are being held by Plymouth Coroner Ian Arrow at Exeter Racecourse and are expected to last four weeks.

Following the jury being sworn in on Tuesday, Mr Arrow told them: "You will not just hear evidence of that fateful day when a shotgun that was lawfully held by Jake Davison was used to kill five wholly innocent victims."

Mr Arrow said jurors would also hear something of Davison's background, the licensing application he made for a shotgun and how in 2020 that licence was revoked and then about a decision in 2021 to return the shotgun.

An inquest into the death of Davison, who turned his pump-action shotgun on himself, is being held separately and is scheduled to begin on 20 February 2023.

Jurors were told they would hear tributes to the victims in the order they died before evidence would begin on Wednesday.

The coroner's officer said Maxine Davison was born in Plymouth and died after she sustained fatal gunshot wounds following an argument with her son.

A statement written by Ms Davison's son Josh on behalf of himself, his sister Zoe and their extended family was read to the hearing.

It said: "Mum was a complicated person and a contrast of many different things.

"She was thoughtful but impulsive, reserved and quiet on one hand, creative, adventurous and able to attract attention on the other."

Josh Davison said in the statement his "breezy, brilliantly quirky, firecracker of a mum" was "funny - really, truly, seriously funny".

The statement said Jake Davison had autism and attended a school that focussed on his needs.

It said: "Mum was absolutely devoted to Jake… he was very much the focus of her life."

Josh Davison added in his statement: "I speak for my whole family when I say that we are all appalled by what happened.

"We're grappling to understand what happened and manage our own health… 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 that 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 prevent this happening in the future."

A statement was read to the court that had been written by Rebecca Martyn, the wife of Lee and mother of three-year-old Sophie.

Mrs Martyn said her husband was a family man who was adored by his children and Sophie was a "typical redhead" who was always in charge and "fierce".

She said she returned home to an empty house at about 19:20 BST on 12 August, and tried calling her husband nine times before going to look for him.

Stephen Washington's wife Sheila read her own statement to the inquest, describing meeting her husband when they were 16 and both living in Surrey.

She said they had five children together before moving to Keyham in 1994 and her husband was a "real family man" who loved spending time with their children and grandchildren.

He had been walking his dogs on the night he died.

Mrs Washington said "I am still finding it hard to come to terms with how Stephen died and how he is no longer with us.

"Never could I have imagined losing him in such horrendous circumstances."

Kate Shepherd's oldest son, George, read a tribute on behalf of the Shepherd family.

Jurors heard she had been an artist who had been inspired by the natural world.

Mr Shepherd said his parents had been married for 40 years and had two other sons, Bill and Guy, the latter who died in 2001 aged 16 from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.

"Kate cared for her boys like a lioness," the statement said.

Her husband John said she had been out shopping on the day she died, preparing for a family visit the next day.

John became concerned when his wife did not return home as expected.

He tried to contact her before going to look for her in his car, and finding the scene of the shooting where emergency services were with his wife.

He added: "I will be ever grateful for what Kate taught me throughout our lives together."

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