Bio

Jake William Davison was born on 21 August 1998 in Plymouth, England. He lived with his mother, Maxine, and had two older siblings. He was a regular visitor to Shetland and spent long periods there with his mother's relatives.

As a child he was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. He attended Mount Tamar school, which is for children with special educational needs. In Year 9 he had a review with Careers South West. The review said he loved guns and wanted to join a gun club. Staff suggested Army Cadets and spoke about how he could get involved with guns.

Davison's mother contacted Careers South West in November 2016 because she was worried. The review records that he talked a lot about firearms and wanted to work in a gun shop. A Careers South West employee considered whether a Prevent referral might be needed, but none was made.

In 2016 Davison was reported to the police after an allegation that he had attacked a man and his pregnant girlfriend. Police warned him but did not prosecute. His father, Mark, later said he had raised concerns about his son's possession of a shotgun with the police in 2017.

Davison applied for a shotgun certificate in July 2017. On the application he declared autism and Asperger syndrome and gave permission for officers to contact his GP. He had been licensed to own a firearm from 2018.

He worked as an apprentice crane operator for the security and defence company Babcock International. In his later teens and early twenties he made videos on YouTube under the name "Professor Waffle" and used Reddit. Some of his online posts showed hostility toward his mother and used language from communities focused on male grievance.

In the year before his death he became interested in weightlifting and bodybuilding. A partner of his mother said he used anabolic steroids and drank many energy drinks while training. Neighbours said he and his mother argued about his views on women, and that their relationship had become strained.

Murder Story

On 12 August 2021 in Keyham, Plymouth, Jake Davison shot and killed five people and injured two others before fatally shooting himself. The inquest jury later returned a verdict of unlawful killing for all of the victims. The Home Office said it would issue updated guidance for firearms licence applications.

At about 18:05 Davison had a physical altercation with his mother at their house on Biddick Drive. Between 18:05 and 18:08 he twice opened fire with a legally owned pump-action shotgun and killed his mother. He then left the house and shot a 3-year-old girl and her 43-year-old father in the street, killing them both. He shot through a front door window, injuring a 53-year-old woman and her 33-year-old son, and then shot and killed a 59-year-old man in a nearby park. Police began receiving reports of shots fired at 18:11.

Davison walked through the area and at 18:13 shot a 66-year-old woman outside a hairdresser on Henderson Place; she later died in hospital. He threatened members of the public in a parking garage but did not fire there. Witnesses described him shortly before he died as walking like a soldier with the shotgun under his chin and with a blank expression. At 18:23, as more police arrived, Davison shot himself dead on Henderson Place.

Devon and Cornwall Police and the ambulance service were alerted at about 18:11 and 18:12. Ambulance crews and specialist response teams attended. Police said officers reached the scene within six minutes of the emergency calls and found the bodies of Davison and four victims. Thirteen different crime scenes were established in the cordoned area. By 21:25 police reported they believed the incident was contained.

Devon and Cornwall Police had removed Davison’s shotgun and licence in December 2020 but returned them in early July 2021 through a deferred caution scheme. The force later self-referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigated the handling of Davison’s firearm licence and the return of his gun. Inquest hearings heard that firearms enquiry officers had received no training for twenty years, that risk tools were not routinely used, and that the firearms licensing office had serious failings. The senior coroner said there was a serious failure by the firearms and explosive licensing unit in granting and later failing to revoke the shotgun licence.

Online accounts linked to Davison were removed after the attack. Reddit suspended his account a day before the shooting after reports of inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old user. In October 2021 disciplinary notices were issued to two members of Devon and Cornwall Police over their handling of the shotgun certificate. The government asked police forces to review licence holders’ social media as part of updated guidance for firearms licensing.