Keyham inquest: Mass shooter killed victims in act of 'pure evil' after string of police failings

The four adults and a three-year-old girl gunned down in a series of shootings in the Keyham area of Plymouth were unlawfully killed after serious police failings, an inquest jury has concluded.

The jury in the Keyham victims’ inquest found there was a “catastrophic failure” and “seriously unsafe culture” in the Devon and Cornwall Police firearms and explosives licensing unit before Jake Davison’s shooting spree.

Lone gunman Jake Davison shot dead his mother Maxine Davison at their home in Biddick Drive on 12 August 2021.

He then took his shotgun, which he owned legally, out onto the streets of Keyham and used it to kill Lee Martyn and his daughter Sophie, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd.

After the 12-minute killing spree, the 22-year-old apprentice crane operator turned the gun on himself.

Jurors at the long-running inquest held at Exeter Racecourse gave their conclusions this afternoon (Monday 18 February), ruling each of his victims was unlawfully killed.

They also found serious failings by Devon and Cornwall Police contributed to the deaths of all five victims and concluded there was a seriously unsafe culture within the firearms licencing unit.

In a statement released after the jury reached its conclusion, the families of Lee and Sophie Martyn, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd said Davison was granted a "licence to kill".

They described his actions as “an act of pure evil” which was “facilitated and enabled by a series of failings and incompetence from the people and organisations that are supposed to keep us safe”.

They added: “It is beyond us how Davison, a man with a known history of violence, mental health issues, and with no real need to own a firearm, was granted a licence to possess a gun in the first place.

“Warning signs were ignored and a licence to kill was granted.”

They said: "There was a catastrophic failure, inadequate leadership, lack of senior management who failed to notice or address issues. lack of scrutiny and professional curiosity at all levels.

"There was a dangerous lack of understanding on behalf of staff regarding use and application of the risk matrix.

"There was a serious failure at a national level by the government, Home Office and National College of Policing to implement the recommendations of the Cullen report.

"There was a serious failure by Devon and Cornwall Police to protect the deceased.

"There was a failure to have in place safe and robust systems."

The inquest heard Davison legally held the pump-action shotgun which he used to carry out the killings.

He applied to Devon and Cornwall Police for a shotgun certificate in July 2017 at the age of 18, saying he wanted to go clay pigeon shooting with his uncle.

As part of the application process, Davison had declared his autism and Asperger’s but when police sought relevant information from his GP, the doctor declined to provide any as it was not mandatory.

The police granted the application in January 2018 to last five years.

Later that year the apprentice crane operator bought a black Weatherby pump-action shotgun which he kept at home in Biddick Drive.

Police were already aware Davison had a history of violence and knew that aged 12 he had assaulted two teachers, and aged 13 had punched a pupil at the special school he attended.

At age 17 he was involved in a domestic verbal argument with his father Mark and was also suspected of an assault outside a Tesco store in 2016.

In September 2020, Davison was captured on CCTV punching a 16-year-old boy up to nine times in a skate park and slapping their 15-year-old female friend after another boy called him a “fat c***”.

Detectives did not know he was the holder of a firearm and put him on the deferred charge Pathfinder scheme instead of prosecution.

It was only two months later a concerned Pathfinder worker alerted the police and the shotgun and certificate were seized.

But just five weeks before the killings, they were handed back to Davison.

Witnesses to the shootings recalled seeing the smirking gunman on his rampage and dialled 999 after hearing gunshots.

Davison left Biddick Drive and walked into the nearby Linear Park and killed dogwalker Mr Washington.

Mrs Shepherd was fatally shot outside a hair salon on Henderson Place.

As two unarmed officers tried to save her life, Davison returned with the shotgun nestled under his chin.

Risking his own life, PC Zach Printer rushed towards him to try to make him surrender but Davison pulled the trigger – with his death captured on the officer’s body-worn camera.

The five-week inquest heard there were multiple failures within the firearms licensing unit and staff were not using “professional curiosity” to scrutinise applications properly.

They had also not received nationally recognised training, which had been recommended in the wake of the Dunblane tragedy.

The decision-making system was “fundamentally flawed” and was in place for at least five years, the inquest heard.

Chief Superintendent Roy Linden, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said Davison should never have been granted the certificate.

“Jake Davison should not have had a licence. Jake Davison should not have had a licence again in 2020. For that, we very much apologise. It should not have happened,” he said.

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