Keyham inquest: CCTV of gunman punching teen boy 9 times a year before Plymouth mass shooting shared

  • Watch CCTV footage of Jake Davison attacking a teenage boy months before the mass shooting

Footage of the Plymouth gunman violently attacking a teenage boy in a skate park can be released to the public for the first time.

The CCTV video shows Jake Davison punching the 16-year-old nine times, leaving him badly injured, and slapping a 15-year-old girl in Plymouth's Central Park in September 2020.

The assault left the boy needing hospital treatment for concussion and butterfly stitches to a cut above his eye.

Davison was not charged with a criminal offence.

His gun was confiscated - but was returned to him just weeks before he used it to kill five people in Keyham.

After a five-week inquest, a jury has today (Monday 18 February) concluded Davison's five victims were unlawfully killed after a series of police failings.

Davison was not charged with a criminal office following the incident

The jury found the decision to return Davison's shotgun and licence to him after the skate park assault was "fundamentally flawed and as a result failed to protect the public and the peace".

The incident was investigated by Detective Inspector Deborah Wyatt, who gave evidence at the inquest into the mass shooting.

She reviewed the evidence compiled by a detective constable and referred Davison to the deferred prosecution Pathfinder scheme, designed to divert people away from the criminal justice system.

DI Wyatt said she did not believe there was sufficient evidence to send the case to court.

"The tragedy has impacted me professionally and personally, and I have reflected on whether I should or could have done anything differently," DI Wyatt said.

"I have forensically analysed my decision-making. My role is to look at the evidence and determine whether there is a realistic chance of conviction."

The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, suggested he may have lost consciousness during the attack, which would be classed as an "aggravating factor" when deciding whether or not to charge an offender with actual bodily harm (ABH).

The court heard his parents were "adamant" the case should go to court, but Davison was instead referred to an anger management course through the Pathfinder scheme.

He did not take part in the course and was instead given a booklet about anger management.

The shooting took place less than a year after the skate park incident Credit: ben Birchall/PA

When deciding whether to charge an offender with ABH, police are required to take aggravating and mitigating factors into account.

The inquest jury found the use of the Pathfinder scheme in this instance was "wholly inadequate in reducing the perpetrator’s future offending".

The jury was also critical of the failings within Devon and Cornwall Police’s licensing unit.

“There was a catastrophic failure in the management of the firearms and explosives licensing unit, with a lack of managerial supervision, inadequate and ineffective leadership,” they said.

“This was compounded by a lack of senior management and executive leadership who failed to notice or address the issues.

“There was a lack of scrutiny and professional curiosity at all levels.

“There was a seriously unsafe culture within the firearms and explosives licensing unit of defaulting to granting licences and to returning licences after review.”

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