London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

‘‘Shooting has broken our hearts,’ says shattered Plymouth as city mourns its children’s innocence

‘‘Shooting has broken our hearts,’ says shattered Plymouth as city mourns its children’s innocence

Keyham’s tight-knit community says the government has ‘big questions’ to answer about gun control

Five-year-old Evie-Rae left her grandmother Terri’s side and carefully placed a pink candle and a teddy bear on the growing pile of tributes at the foot of a tree in North Down Crescent Park.

“I wanted to come because of the little girl,” she said. “It’s so sad what happened. And scary.” She scattered some petals before running off to play.

The Plymouth suburb of Keyham, the scene of Jake Davison’s killing spree, is a tight-knit one. Terri knew Davison’s first victim, his mother, Maxine, well. “She was a lovely lady. We’re all just feeling so numb. It’s hard on everyone – but especially difficult for the little ones to take it all in.”

Throughout Saturday, people turned up to sign books of condolence at churches and a school in Keyham. Across the city, flags flew at half-mast, while some cultural and sporting events were cancelled.

Posters recording the names of Davison’s five victims began to appear on lamp-posts and trees – Maxine Davison, 51; Sophie Martyn, the three-year-old girl whose death has hit so many; Lee Martyn, her 43-year-old dad; Stephen Washington, 59; Kate Shepherd, 66.

Lee Martyn’s local, The Anchorage, held a two-minute silence just before Everton’s Premier League game began.

Tributes are left near the scene of the shooting.


The club said on Facebook it was a “mark of respect for a true gentleman and his amazing daughter”, continuing: “Lee and Sophie were very close to us here at The Anchorage and we’ll all truly miss them both. We all know how much Lee loved Everton, so today, as a mark of respect, all staff will also be wearing an item of blue clothing.”

On railings near the Lidl supermarket, where Davison and his mother shopped, someone attached green and white balloons, the colours of the city’s football team Plymouth Argyle, with the five names printed on them.

Several of the floral tributes left outside Lidl referred specifically to Sophie’s death. One read: “Our hearts are absolutely broken for the tragic loss of life in our friendly little part of Plymouth. We are just so sad for everyone and especially for the dear little girl and her family.” Another read: “Sleep tight you beautiful family. Lee and Sophie, you should never have been taken so soon.”

Shortly after Evie-Rae left North Down Crescent Park, the home secretary, Priti Patel, arrived with the Devon and Cornwall chief constable, Shaun Sawyer, to lay bouquets. Patel refused to answer questions about gun control – and why Davison’s firearms licence had been returned to him last month.

The home secretary met members of a local Neighbourhood Watch group in the park. They spelled out that one of their main fears was the impact on mental health the attack would have, particularly on children.

Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, Kev Sprowston, told Patel: “This is our September 11.” He explained: “Every single kid, every single adult knows exactly where they were, similar to 9/11.” Many people, including children, had witnessed the shooting spree. “We need help and support to recover from this,” he said.

The gunman’s mother, Maxine Davison, 51, was among his five victims.


Laura Mervyn, a counsellor based in Keyham, said: “It’s going to be a long, long struggle for many people in the community, from three-year-olds up. When the children go back to school, at Christmas, for a long time – it’s something we need to keep thinking about. But nationwide there’s a problem – we don’t have enough support for mental health.”

Later, a mum brought her five-year-old son down to the cordon at Biddick Drive, where Davison lived and where the spree began when he opened fire on his mother. The woman, who asked not to be named, said: “My lad’s found it tough. He’s been having nightmares and asking me if we’re in danger. We tell him he’s safe, but it’s a worry. He’ll remember this all his life.”

Akbar Badshah, a community optometrist, arrived at the Lidl tribute site with his young daughter, Zara. “She asked, ‘Is it going to happen to us?’”

The overwhelming feeling in Keyham still seemed to be shock and sadness, but some were starting to express anger that Davison had a licence and weapon.

Submariner Daryl Eden was to be found chatting with Brett Moor, a former colour sergeant with the 1st Battalion Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. Moor, who completed 13 tours, said he had never expected to come so close to gun violence on the streets of Plymouth. “I have no idea why anyone needs a gun around here. The whole thing sounds ridiculous to me. The police and government have big questions to answer.”

A candlelit vigil at North Down Crescent Park, Plymouth, on Friday.


Labour MP Luke Pollard, whose Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency includes Keyham, said he was determined to get answers.

He, too, expressed concern about the impact on the area’s youngsters. “Children witnessed it. How do you deal with a toddler who saw that? We need answers, if they are difficult so be it. We’ve got a whole community grieving here,” he said.

“We’ve got a three-year-old killed. We need proper answers.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×