Plymouth: Crowds hold vigil in tribute to shooting victims

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In the aftermath of a horrific shooting that claimed the lives of five victims in Plymouth, many are asking whether this tragedy could have been avoided. Numerous warning signs pointed to Jake Davison’s worrying state of mind. Despite this, no preventative action seems to have been taken.

The first victim of the shootout, the gunman’s mother Maxine Davison, allegedly made several pleas for help with her son’s dangerous mental state.

Despite his unstable state, Jake Davidson’s shotgun and shotgun certificate were returned to him in July after being removed in September last year following assault claims.

Others are demanding why the Plymouth killer wasn’t put on a UK watchlist after he expressed clear affiliations to Incel; an extreme, misogynistic group linked to several violent attacks.

Many are asking how this tragedy could have occurred with such clear red flags being raised.

Former Chief Prosecutor for North West England, Nazir Afsal, told BBC Breakfast this latest attack should be taken more seriously. He even suggested it could qualify as a terror attack.

Mr Afsal said: “A lot of people have been saying, for example, ‘why wasn’t this terrorism?’.

‘Well terrorism is if its political views, racial or religious, or ideological.

“Now I would say that extreme misogyny is ideological. If you look at what’s being said online, that’s what drove him to commit these crimes.”

Mr Afsal later slammed the Government for not taking this incident seriously enough.

He said: “We had a Cobra meeting after 7/7, after London Bridge, after Westminster Bridge, but there was no Cobra meeting yesterday. That – to my mind – demonstrates how little this government takes this seriously.

“You’ve got to think about how we deal with these men – and they’re all with men. What are they saying online? How have they been radicalised? Who’s doing the radicalisation?

“If you treat it as terrorism, then you have other options available to you, in terms of intelligence gathering, in terms of being able to prosecute for disseminating materials, in terms of being able to hold them to account if they’re conspiring with each other.

“So there are other offences available if you treat it as terrorism – but as we’ve currently heard, that’s not what the government’s intention is.”

Boris Johnson has said his thoughts are with the friends and family of the victims.

He also thanked the emergency services who responses to the attack in a social media post.

He said: “My thoughts are with the friends and family of those who lost their lives and with all those affected by the tragic incident in Plymouth last night.

“I thank the emergency services for their response.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) have confirmed they will investigate Devon and Cornwall Police.

This will be centred on their decision to return the gunman’s shotgun and shotgun certificate to him in July despite the allegations of assault made against him.

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