Plymouth shootings: GP not told mass-shooter had shotgun licence

The GP of a man who shot and killed five people was not told he had been granted a shotgun licence, an inquest has heard.

Jake Davison, 22, killed five people in the Keyham area of Plymouth in 2021.

The inquests into their deaths in Exeter heard Davison had been "obsessed" with guns from an early age.

The jury was also told Davison had contacted a separate mental health unit months before the tragedy but his GP had not been made aware.

In August 2021 Davison killed his mother Maxine Davison, 51, three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, before turning his legally-held pump-action shotgun on himself.

Davison's GP, Benjamin Dawson, told the inquest he had received a request from police in 2017 for information relating to Davison's application for a shotgun licence.

Dr Dawson, a partner at St Neots surgery in Plymouth, explained to police he felt unable to provide information but then heard nothing more from the firearms licensing unit.

Davison was granted a shotgun licence in January 2018.

The inquest previously heard a note should be made in the medical records of anyone granted a shotgun or firearms licence.

Bridget Dolan, the counsel for the coroner, asked Dr Dawson: "Did you put a firearms code on Jake Davison's record?"

He said he had not as it would have been "potentially inaccurate" ahead of any notification from the police.

Dr Dawson said he was not sent any further information from the police regarding Davison being granted a shotgun licence or the licence being revoked in 2020 and returned to him in 2021.

Davison was found to have autism when he was assessed as a child and had an "obsession" with guns and knives.

The inquest heard Dr Dawson declined to respond to the initial police request for information relating to the shotgun licence application in line with professional guidance from the British Medical Association and the Devon Local Medical Committee.

He responded to the request by police to say an assessment of Davison's suitability to hold a shotgun licence was "outside of my expertise".

The inquest heard Davison had first been diagnosed with autism in 2011 and had a "history of emotional and behavioural difficulties".

Dr Dawson said at that time Davison was "struggling with social skills" and "spent his time playing computer games about killing and struggled to separate fact from fantasy".

In 2013 Davison was assessed by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and was found to be "obsessed with firearms" and spent most of his time researching the subject.

Davison talked to assessors about his wish "to live in America and run a firearms range".

The assessment concluded Davison "had no plans to hurt anyone with a gun and has never considered it".

Dr Dawson told the inquest Davison had an appointment with a colleague about a month before the shootings, in July 2021.

Davison told the colleague he had been taking injectable steroids "about a year ago" and was worried his libido had been affected.

Blood tests showed a "slight abnormality in liver function" but were "essentially normal".

The inquest also heard Davison contacted Livewell Southwest in May 2021 and was seen by a practitioner there.

The jury was told Livewell Southwest provides first response mental health services as well as other health and social care services.

Dr Dawson said he had not been made aware of any contact between Davison and Livewell Southwest.

He said: "It might have been helpful but we weren't notified at the time."

When Dr Dawson was asked if the situation was the same today he said: "No, that has changed. We now receive an alert within 24 hours and it prompts the GP to look at that patient's records."

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].