A teacher who knew Plymouth killer Jake Davison expressed his fury and disbelief last night that his former pupil was allowed to own a shotgun – and revealed that he had been obsessed with firearms from a young age.
In the wake of Davison’s terrifying rampage – during which he massacred his mother, a three-year-old girl and her father, a dog walker and a bystander – stunned teacher Jonathan Williams described the decision to grant him a gun licence as a ‘catastrophic mistake’.
Mr Williams, who taught English, drama and music to Davison at Mount Tamar special school in the Devon city said: ‘You have to ask, what the hell were they thinking giving him this licence?
‘If you ask anyone who was involved in Jake’s schooling whether giving him a licence was a good idea, they would all tell you absolutely not.
‘How is it possible that a police officer read Jake’s history of obsessive compulsive disorder, anger issues and depression and concluded he should be allowed to own a firearm?
‘It was a catastrophic mistake with utterly tragic consequences. Something went badly awry and you can’t help but feel this whole tragedy could have been avoided. There will be serious questions now about who is responsible for all this happening.
‘I’m imagining what we, his teachers, would have thought about the prospect of him requesting a gun licence. We would probably have laughed in disbelief to be honest.’
Mr Williams, who taught the killer when he was aged 14 to 16, recalled how Davison’s obsession with guns developed as a boy.
He said: ‘He used to have books and books about guns. Whenever I put a film on in class which had a gun in it, he would instantly recognise it and knew the exact make and model. I remember him saying: “Oh, that’s a Glock” and he would be right.
‘His mum Maxine and I decided to try to help him get into the Army Cadets as an outlet for his fascination. She was extremely supportive and only wanted to do the best for him, and I remember going out to help get him boots.’
Mr Williams said Davison’s autism diagnosis should also have barred him from holding a shotgun licence. He questioned whether the 22-year-old had been receiving adequate care in recent years and believed that the killer would have had a ‘bright future’ if he had been given the right support.
He spoke of his shock that the boy he once described as the ‘success story of the year’ had gone on to shoot dead five in Britain’s first ‘incel’ mass shooting – named after a misogynistic online subculture of ‘involuntary celibates’ unable to find a sexual partner – before turning the gun on himself.
He said: ‘It is utterly horrifying and tragic. My heart goes out to Jake’s friends and family, as much as to those of his victims.