Plymouth shooting: Officer who confronted gunman praised for bravery

An unarmed police officer who ran to confront the Plymouth gunman has been thanked for his "extraordinary bravery".

Jake Davison had killed five people, including his mother, when PC Zachary Printer, a former firearms officer, arrived at the scene in the Keyham area of the city on 12 August 2021.

"I had to confront him to protect the public," PC Printer told an inquest.

"To do that, I had to become the focus of attention in his eyes."

Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine, 51; three-year-old Sophie Martyn; her father, Lee, 43; Kate Shepherd, 66; and Stephen Washington, 59, before turning his legally-held pump-action shotgun on himself.

At the inquest into their deaths, PC Printer became emotional, as did people in the public gallery and some of the lawyers.

He said: "My thoughts were 'I need to protect the public, I need to protect my colleagues and I also need to protect Jake.'"

A clearly moved Nick Stanage, who represents Davison's brother and sister, said: "Thank you for your extraordinary bravery."

PC Printer told the inquest at Exeter Racecourse he was on duty with Devon and Cornwall's roads policing team when he heard a call about a suspected shooting.

He said Plymouth was a safe city and he initially thought the incident would involve a BB gun or air pistol.

Arriving "within three to four minutes", police helped give first aid to Mrs Shepherd.

PC Printer said he informed the force incident manager it was a "live shooting incident".

The inquest heard Mrs Shepherd's injuries were "devastating and inevitably fatal".

"As we were tending to Kate there was a shout, shouts, screams: 'He's back, he's back, he's got a gun!'," he said.

"I shouted 'Stand still!' My thoughts were, 'I need to protect the public, I need to protect my colleagues and I also need to protect Jake… if I'd have got closer I might have been able to talk him down.

"I got to within 20 metres or so and the shotgun was positioned underneath his chin and he pulled the trigger."

Coroner Ian Arrow said there had been a "noble and resolute response" to events that evening.

"I should like to publicly acknowledge the dedication to duty shown by police officers and paramedics and particularly that of PC Printer, who ran forwards towards Jake Davison, a man carrying a gun," he said.

"I thank all the investigators and responders who have sought to return the community to normality.

"A return to normal will take care, comfort, sympathy and understanding and I do hope it also comes with learning and system change."

Neighbour Ruth Dowse described checking on the Martyns after they had been shot, and giving first aid to Ben Parsonage and his mother Michelle Parker, who were also shot.

She also encouraged her neighbours to go back inside their houses for their own safety.

"I didn't want them to see what I had seen," she added.

Ms Dowse said Mrs Davison was a friend who she would sit with to have a glass of wine.

She said Mrs Davison had told her of her volatile relationship with her son.

"In the past she had sought refuge at my house but the last time that happened was about three years ago," she said.

PC Victoria Smith said her colleague tried to give CPR to Mr Washington, who was lying on the grass in nearby Linear Park.

Stephen Randle was driving with his son when he saw Mrs Shepherd "slumped in the door of a shop - she was waving and trying to get the attention of passers-by".

He said they stopped to try to help her and she was drifting in and out of consciousness.

Mr Randle said he spotted Davison appear back on Henderson Place and shouted to raise the alarm.

Of PC Printer's actions, he added: "I thought this was extremely brave as I knew the police officer was unarmed and facing a man who had already shot one person."

Earlier, the inquest heard how Davison "smirked" as he shot Mr Parsonage and Mrs Parker, his neighbours on Biddick Drive, through their front door.

Mrs Parker said: "It was like he was staring right through us - he had no remorse."

In a statement read to the hearing, Mrs Parker said she was in her living room eating dinner on 12 August with her son, granddaughter and husband.

She said she heard some bangs but at first assumed they were fireworks.

Mrs Parker said her son went to the front door after hearing more bangs and she followed him.

The inquest heard she saw two bodies on the pavement through her open front door.

"Jake had his back to us," Mrs Parker said.

She said she heard her son shout to Jake to ask him what he had done.

"As Ben shouted at him, Jake turned around and took a step or two towards us.

"I can clearly remember Jake's face at this point," she said.

"It was like he was staring right through us - he had no remorse."

The inquest heard Mr Parsonage turned around and pushed his mother inside the house, shutting the door behind them.

In his statement, Mr Parsonage said: "I could no longer see him but I almost instantly heard a loud bang."

The right-hand panel of the door had smashed and he could see Davison again as he fired another shot, smashing the other glass pane in the door.

"He just had a smirk on his face," he said.

"He looked without remorse, like he didn't care what he was doing or what had happened."

The inquest heard mother and son only realised they had been shot a short while later, with Mr Parsonage suffering wounds to his stomach and Mrs Parker injuries to her left forearm and wrist.

Mr Parsonage said the incident had left him feeling "hopeless" and with physical and mental scars.

"I'm trying to get on with things but I don't like to show people my emotions - it's very difficult," he added.

Marlene Hill, Mrs Davison's sister, said in a statement read to the jury she had last seen her on 11 August - the day before she died.

"Maxine was run down about problems she was having with Jake," she said.

"She told me Jake was saying things to her like he wished she was dead."

Ms Hill said her sister called her at 18:04 BST on 12 August - minutes before Jake killed her.

"Marlene said to me, 'It's Jake - he's got me by the throat, I don't know what to do, he won't let me out of the bedroom'," she said.

Ms Hill said she shouted at Jake, asking him what he was doing, and told him she was going to call the police.

She said she heard Davison say 'No you're not' and he hung up.

"It was truly shocking what's happened and I feel so terribly sorry for the families involved, and of course, I feel devastated for the loss of my sister," she said.

The inquest continues.

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