Plymouth gunman ‘had argument with his mother’ before killing five people, inquest told
Plymouth gunman Jake Davison had an argument with his mother before shooting her in the head at the start of his attack, an inquest has heard.
In a 12-minute rampage last Thursday evening, the 22-year-old killed five people, including a three-year-old girl, with a shotgun before taking his own life.
The inquest into the deaths of Davison‘s victims has now formally opened, with police providing evidence about the circumstances of the killings.
Three of the five victims of the Plymouth mass shooting (from left): Sophie Martyn, her father Lee Martyn, and the gunman’s mother Maxine Davison
All five victims died from shotgun wounds, the court was told.
Police are not looking for any other people in connection with their deaths.
The results of toxicology tests, which look for traces of drugs in the victims’ bodies, and histology tests, which involve the examination of sampled whole tissues under a microscope, are still pending.
Maxine Davison, a former trawler, died at her home in Biddick Drive, in the Keyham area of Plymouth.
“The circumstances of her death are that Maxine sustained fatal gunshot wounds following an argument with her son,” Detective Steve Hambly, the senior investigating officer, said.
He said the medical cause of her death, based on current evidence, was shotgun wounds to her head and torso.
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Minute’s silence held for Plymouth shooting victims
The other four victims did not know Davison, the inquest was told.
Davison’s subsequent victims, three-year-old Sophie Martyn and her father Lee, 43, were walking their dog in Biddick Drive when they were killed.
They were both fatally shot in the head, while Mr Martyn also sustained shotgun wounds to his chest.
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Vigil for victims of Plymouth shooting
The gunman went on to enter a nearby park, where he killed Stephen Washington, 59, who was walking his dogs.
Mr Washington, who was a carer for his wife, died from gunshot wounds to his chest.
The final victim of Davison’s rampage was Kate Shepherd, a 66-year-old married artist, who was fatally shot in the abdomen on Henderson Close. She later died in Derriford Hospital.
Stephen Washington, 59, was among those killed in the Keyham shooting
In a separate five-minute hearing, the coroner opened and adjourned the inquest into the death of Davison, who died after shooting himself in the head before police could reach him.
The coroner adjourned all inquests and scheduled another hearing on 9 December.
Jess Phillips has said “nothing is off the table” when dealing with the grooming gangs scandal – including a new national inquiry if victims want one.
The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she would listen to victims on a new panel that was announced by the government this week.
“Nothing is off the table,” she said.
“And if the victims come forward to me in this victims panel and they say, ‘actually, we think there needs to be a national inquiry into this’, I’ll listen to them.”
Politics latest: Tories told to ‘put up or shut up’
Her comments come days after it emerged she had rejected calls from Oldham Council to hold a government inquiry into grooming gangs in the town, and said the council should commission one instead.
That has led to tech billionaire Elon Musk attacking her and Sir Keir Starmer for not holding a national inquiry and accusing the prime minister of being “complicit” in the abuse.
Professor Alexis Jay finished an eight-year national inquiry into child sexual abuse in 2022 and set out recommendations for the government.
Read more:
What happened in the grooming gangs scandal?
Why the Tories’ attempts to force inquiry won’t work
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Education sec ‘not interested’ in Musk comments
The Conservatives tabled an amendment to the Children’s Safeguarding and Schools Bill on Wednesday to require a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.
However, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told Sky News the Tories “don’t care about children” as the amendment could prevent the entire bill from going forward.
She said: “The measures that I’m setting out today and the legislation in many ways go further because it puts a requirement on all councils to have teams working to keep children safe.
“And the bandwagon jumpers that have come along in recent days, they don’t care about children, they don’t care about making sure that we stop this and we take action.
“They had years to do it and they didn’t do it.”
The Conservatives also rejected a call from Oldham Council for a government inquiry in 2022.
You can listen to Beth’s full interview with Jess Phillips in a special episode of Electoral Dysfunction released on Thursday.
The 14-year-old who was stabbed to death on a bus in southeast London yesterday has been named as Kelyan Bokassa.
He was stabbed to death on a bus in Woolwich Church Street, close to the Woolwich Ferry, just before 2.30pm on Tuesday.
The teenager died at the scene shortly after medical help arrived.
The Metropolitan Police called the stabbing a “horrific attack,” while London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said the “heart-breaking violence has absolutely no place in our city”.
No arrests have been made so far but officers are appealing for witnesses who were on the 472 bus.
Tributes were left to the teenager, who was a student at St Columba’s Catholic Boys School. Pic: PA
An aspiring rapper, 14-year-old Kelyan was also “briefly” a student at St Columba’s Catholic Boys School in Bexleyheath.
The South East London Catholic Academy Trust said in a statement it was “saddened by the loss of life” and added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time.
“Our schools will provide support to any of the students who may be affected by this senseless violence.”
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Mary Bokassa, the boy’s mother, also told MailOnline that he and others “were taken advantage by gangs” and “were groomed”.
She told the outlet: “He was missing for a year and was living on the street. He finally turned up at my doorstep, he was sick, underweight and tattooed.
“He was exposed to drugs. He probably experienced something because I could sense it. He was not himself. If I questioned him, he wouldn’t tell me anything about his friends.”
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Thorpe, who is leading the investigation, said: “Following Kelyan’s tragic death yesterday, specialist officers are now leading the investigation which is progressing at pace.
“If anyone saw this horrific attack or was in the area then I urge them to come forward and speak to officers.
“We’re particularly interested in any mobile phone footage that captured this incident or any dash cam or doorbell footage from around the surrounding area at the time of this incident.”
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