Video reveals Plymouth ‘incel’ gunman’s eight-minute rampage that killed five
Girl, three, and her father found cradling each other after ‘incel’ Jake Davison shot them dead in street
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Chilling footage showing a gunman calmly carrying a loaded weapon and then going on a killing spree in which he murdered five people has been revealed for the first time.
Jake Davison, 22, is seen in the clips wielding his firearm as he strolls along a street in Plymouth, Devon, then indiscriminately shoots dead people at random, including a three-year-old girl pushing her teddy in a pram.
She and her father were found cradling each other after being shot dead, an inquest heard.
In Britain’s worst mass shooting in more than a decade, in August 2021, Davison shot his 51-year-old mother Maxine Davison, before going out into the street and murdering Sophie Martyn, and her father, Lee Martyn, 43.
During the 12-minute spree, the “incel” – involuntary celibate – also killed Stephen Washington, 59, in a nearby park before shooting 66-year-old Kate Shepherd, who later died in hospital. He then killed himself.
The full horror that Davison unleashed is revealed in the video, taken from a mix of CCTV, bodycam footage and audio from 999 calls.
Sections of the previously unseen footage were shown at the inquest, which is being held to establish the cause of the victims’ deaths and the circumstances of the shooting.
At 6.05pm, Maxine called her sister Marlene Hill, who dialled 999 and is heard saying: “Her son has got mental health problems. He has grabbed her by the throat and is not messing around.”
The killer is seen on CCTV leaving the house at 6.08pm, holding his shotgun after shooting his mother twice following a row.
Lee Martyn and his daughter Sophie, pushing her teddy in a pram, were walking with the family dog into Biddick Drive, the inquest heard.
At 6.09pm Davison killed them by shooting Lee three times and Sophie once, firstly at a range of 20m and then at 1m.
Neighbour Sharon Hellyer, told the inquest how she heard about 10 gunshots in quick succession and from a window saw Davison, who she recognised, carrying a gun. She said he appeared “calm”.
Outside, she spoke to other neighbours and saw a woman covered in blood around the chest, who said she had been shot through her window.
“I walked down Biddick Drive and immediately noticed a man and a tiny little girl cradling each other and I shouted, ‘Is anyone going to help them?’
“I walked over to the man and the little girl to try to help and as soon as I got closer, I could see there was no helping them.
“The man had a headshot wound and the little girl was facing the man and they look really peaceful, it didn’t look real - they almost looked perfect in place.
“The dad still had his arm around the little girl. I used to work in a care home and I have seen a lot of dead bodies and I knew they were both dead.”
At 6.11pm, another caller to police reported: “He is shooting everywhere.”
Davison then shot Stephen Washington twice in Lineaer Park, and a bystander saw a man with a gun walking towards him and ran away.
At 6.13pm, Davison shot Kate Shepherd, his final victim, outside Blush salon in Henderson Place, at close range.
At 6.15pm, unarmed police officers arrived on the scene and started giving her first aid.
Seven minutes later Davison was seen on CCTV holding the gun to his throat and at 6.24pm he shot himself dead.
Police bodycam footage captured the moment, with an officer heard shouting: “A man has shot himself in the head.”
Investigator David Miller, a case officer with the major crimes team, ran through the CCTV, saying: “A maximum of eight minutes elapsed between the first and last shooting.”
The inquest, at Exeter Racecourse, is expected to address concerns from the families over why Davison was allowed to legally own a firearm under a sporting licence.
The gun had been confiscated by police after Davison assaulted two teenagers but was returned to him shortly before the tragedy.
On Tuesday, Josh Davison, the killer’s brother, said: “Our involvement in this inquest is to help prevent this happening in future - an event like this cannot and should not happen again.
“If we had one wish it would be we could turn back time and allow everyone who had a part in the events leading up to this tragedy an opportunity to make changes to prevent it happening at all.”