Plymouth shooting inquests: Mother contacted mental health service

The mother of a man who shot dead five people had three months earlier contacted a mental health service over concerns about him, an inquest heard.

Jake Davison's mother Maxine contacted the Livewell mental health first response service in May 2021.

She told the call handler her son had "recently self-harmed" and "struggled with his body image".

Davison, 22, was classified as "low risk" and his GP was not contacted ahead of the killings in August 2021.

Davison killed his mother, 51; three-year-old Sophie Martyn; her father, Lee, 43; Stephen Washington, 59; and Kate Shepherd, 66, in the Keyham area of Plymouth, before turning his legally-held pump action shotgun on himself.

A subsequent report of his mother's call also recorded Davison as saying he "feels fat and is still a virgin", the inquest into their deaths heard.

Davison was signposted to organisations that could help with social interaction and anger management.

Earlier, the inquest at Exeter Racecourse heard how an ex-detective was "surprised" to find Davison had a shotgun licence after an earlier assault.

Davison had been referred to restorative justice officer David Huggett after repeatedly punching a teenage boy in a skatepark in September 2020 after somebody called him "fat".

Police referred him to Pathfinder - a police scheme dealing with deferred charges - and Mr Huggett , who had served in the Army and as a police officer for 27 years, was assigned as his keyworker.

Aware of Davison's "meltdowns" and tendency to lash out, Mr Huggett raised concerns with firearms licensing officers.

Mr Huggett said: "He had issues where he had meltdowns and lashed out at people.

"I thought this was unpredictable behaviour. I thought, 'Are firearms licensing actually aware of this?' and I sent them an email."

Davison's gun was seized by police in December 2020 but was later returned to him before he carried out the killings.

Bridget Dolan KC, who is asking questions on behalf of the coroner, asked Mr Huggett why he was surprised to see the licence warning marker on Davison's notes.

Mr Huggett referred to Davison being autistic and his involvement in violent incidents at school.

The inquest heard that Mr Huggett was contacted by firearms enquiry officer David Rees, who dealt with Davison's shotgun licence, to ask about the outcome of the Pathfinder process.

Mr Huggett responded by email saying: "I have no ongoing concerns about him."

Asked why he did not express concerns about the shotgun licence at this point, he said: "We were never asked our view on his suitability."

Regarding the skatepark assault, Mr Huggett said Davison told him in interview he "had had a bad day".

Mr Huggett said: "Him and his mother were getting on each other's nerves and he wanted to go for a walk and calm down."

When Davison heard someone call him "fat" he "just snapped".

"He said he went up to the group and effectively he lost it. He said he knew the person he assaulted was not the person who had shouted abuse at him," said Mr Huggett.

Ms Dolan asked: "But he felt he had to make somebody pay?"

Mr Huggett replied: "Yes."

Previously, the inquest heard investigating officer Det Con Pablo Beckhurst had not understood a firearms warning marker on Davison's police files.

The hearing continues.

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