Social media accounts linked to Jake Davison have been taken down for violating terms of service rules.

YouTube has confirmed an account belonging to the Plymouth gunman has been terminated from the platform, for violating its offline behaviour policy.

The Google-owned video-sharing website said it worked quickly to remove videos that breach its policies once flagged.

YouTube rules prohibit content that incites violence, including encouraging others to go to a particular place to commit violence or to perform violence at a particular time, the firm said.

Facebook also confirmed accounts belonging to Davison have been removed.

A spokesperson for the social network said the 22-year-old's profile had been taken down under its dangerous individuals and organisations policy, which does not allow mass murderers to be on Facebook or Instagram.

Leader of Plymouth City Council Councillor Nick Kelly has released a statement with Leader of the Opposition Councillor Tudor Evans.

Councillor Kelly said: “Plymouth is a city in shock today. This is a city with a reputation for being friendly, for being safe.

"Details of what happened last night are still emerging and it will be some time before we know the whole story, but we do know that Plymouth people have a history of coming together to support each other.

"I will be visiting Keyham today to meet with the local community and express my condolences."

Councillor Evans added the whole city is "united in its shock and grief" and said their "thoughts go out to all those who are affected".

"We will all work together to do all we can to help people come to terms with this truly shocking episode."

A mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been made following the shooting in Plymouth, the watchdog has confirmed.

David Ford, regional director for the IOPC, said they had received the referral from Devon and Cornwall Police after "tragic events in Plymouth in which six people lost their lives".

Image source, PA Media

He said: “Our thoughts remain with all of the many people who will be severely affected.

"The referral relates to yesterday’s events as well as police contact with Jake Davison prior to the incident, including the force’s role and actions regarding firearms licensing.

"We are urgently assessing the matter to determine what further action may be required from us."

A priest in Keyham says the community is "in shock" following the shooting in a "quiet area" of Plymouth.

Father David Way welcomed people to St Thomas the Apostle Church on Friday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The World at One programme he said: "It wasn’t just the events, it was the multitude of helicopters and air ambulances.

"You know I think there's going to be a lot of trauma yet to come out of the people in this community.

"At the moment I think there is a sense of just sheer shock."

Image source, Google

Tonight the Church will hold a Requiem Mass, Father Way confirmed

“We are the Church and we have a duty to offer prayers for all of the people that have died and so it seemed fitting that we would do that this evening 24 hours after the events," he added.

The charity Victim Support has said anyone affected by the shooting in Plymouth can get in touch for help.

Zoe Burn from the charity said they were able to help people "talk through what they are feeling wherever they are at any time of day or night".

She said: "We're all affected by this and we're all affected in different ways.

"It can bring back things from people's past, it can relate to things they're experiencing at the moment, or they can be really directly affected.

"Whatever people are thinking, we're here to talk about that."

The level of gun crime in the UK is among the lowest in the world, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

Pistols, revolvers and shotguns are the firearms most frequently used illegally in the UK and while fully-automatic weapon seizures are “very rare”, a “gradual increase” has been seen, the agency said.

The majority of shootings are carried out by criminal street gangs involved in robberies and drugs rings, with victims of gun crime generally known to police, it explained, which is an indication of how rare a shooting like Keyham is.

A “substantial” amount of shootings involve firearms that have been “illegally converted, modified or reactivated. This includes blank firearms that have been modified to fire”, the NCA added.

A total of 30 homicide victims in England and Wales in the year to March 2020 were killed by shooting, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This represents 4% of homicides in the 12-month period.

The average number of homicides committed by shooting has fallen in recent years, from 36 per year between 2010/11 and 2014/15 to 29 between 2015/16 and 2019/20.

The proportion of homicides caused by shooting has fluctuated between 4% and 5% over the last five years, the ONS said.

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, says she will be looking for answers from local police and elsewhere over the shootings in Plymouth on Thursday evening

Daniel De Simone
BBC Home Affairs producer

The Plymouth gunman Jake Davison wrote about mass shootings in a social media post just three weeks ago.

Posting on the social media site Reddit, Davison displayed a detailed knowledge about previous mass shooting in the UK, as well as weapons used in them.

Davison also discussed firearms laws, writing “there are a lot more guns in Europe and the UK than people think”.

Elsewhere on Reddit, he contributed to pages devoted to so-called ‘incel’ culture, which is short for involuntary celibate.

Part of an online subculture, incels define themselves as unable to find sexual partners despite wanting such relationships. But relevant digital spaces are routinely characterized by misogyny, self-pity, a sense of entitlement to sex from females, and the endorsement of violence against both women and sexually active men.

Davison complained on Reddit about being a “virgin” and stated “I can’t attract women at all”.

One month ago he told an internet forum group for virgins that: “I’m doing better got a job as a crane operator”.

In self-filmed diatribes posted on Youtube, he expressed misogynistic views and suggested that sexual assaults happen because “women don't need men no more”.

Football club Plymouth Argyle said a minute’s silence will take place ahead of their opening home fixture of the season.

Plymouth’s Sky Bet League One match with Gillingham at Home Park will take place as scheduled on Saturday but Argyle revealed they would undertake a period of silence on social media and had made changes ahead of what was set to be a day of celebration, with Argyle fans returning to the stadium for the first time without restrictions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

A statement read: “Plymouth Argyle Football club is deeply shocked and saddened by last night’s tragic events in our city. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those affected.

“We would also like to thank the emergency services for their quick and brave actions in responding to this terrible incident.

“Our flags at Home Park Stadium are flying at half-mast and we will be making some changes to our scheduled program ahead of tomorrow’s match with Gillingham."

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Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said the impact on the local community in Plymouth and other communities across the country in which relatives of the deceased live "will be felt for many months and years".

Mr Sawyer said: “I have already been involved in extensive discussions with Plymouth City Council and local community leaders earlier today and we are committed to playing our part in helping the community deal with the impact an event like this brings.”

The Chief Constable said police would now take "whatever time is necessary to examine some 13 scenes within the immediate area".

He said: "This may cause some disruption to the local community, for which we apologise, but there must be a forensic analysis to piece together any evidence possible."

Police have confirmed a three-year-old girl was among the victims of the Plymouth gunman Jake Davison.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the victims were a 51-year-old woman who was known to Davison, a three-year-old girl and her 43-year-old male relative, a 59-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman who died later in hospital.

The Home Secretary said questions would “inevitably” be asked following the killing of five people in Plymouth on Thursday.

Speaking to broadcasters, Priti Patel said: “There are a lot of issues, implications, lives have been lost, people have been murdered.

“This is absolutely tragic and devastating, and for the entire community right now this will be deeply shocking, so obviously that’s where the focus is.

“There will be a range of questions that will inevitably be asked and I will be doing the same for the conversations and discussions I’ll be having with the chief constable.”

Image source, PA

Following the news Jake Davison was a registered firearm owner by police, BBC News has published an explainer about the UK's laws over owning a firearm or shotgun.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer commended the "strength" of the Plymouth community and the response of the emergency services in the wake of the shooting.

In particular he thanked "colleagues from the ambulance, air ambulance service and colleagues at Derriford hospital, as well as the responding officers".

Following Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer's press conference we now know:

• Jake Davison, 22, was confirmed as the gunman
• His first victim was at a house in Biddick Drive, followed by four others in the surrounding area
• One was a "very young girl" and her male relative
• Two other people are being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds
• Davison held a firearms licence, but police would not confirm if this was the gun used
• Officers arrived on the scene within six minutes of reports and Davison had killed himself before armed police arrived
• Terrorism is not being considered the motive for the shooting
• Police believe it to be a domestic incident which "spilled into the streets"

Jake Davison turned the gun on himself before Devon and Cornwall Police firearms officers arrived on the scene, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer confirmed.

Officers arrived at the shooting within six minutes of being alerted.

When asked if officers fired any shots Mr Sawyer said: "He had taken his own life before firearms officers were able to engage him."

Police believe the motive for the shooting to be a "domestic incident" that "spilled into the streets of Plymouth, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said.

When pressed on any links to terrorism in the shooting, he reiterated terrorism was "not the focus" of the investigation but officers were keeping an "open mind".

He added Devon and Cornwall Police were liaising with specialist counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Sawyer said: "Let's see what's on his his hard drive, let's see what's on his computer.

"But right now we having nothing to say that was the case.

"We believe we have an incident that is domestically related, that has spilled into the streets and seen several people within Plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinary tragic circumstance."

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer was asked about the response time of his officers and their actions in the aftermath of the shooting.

He said officers arrived at the scene within six minutes, which he called a "phenomenal response" time and said he was "proud" of the force's actions so far.

He added that "only the coroner will tell us whether we could have done more, but at the moment I think that that kind of call to response in any city, is extremely responsive".

Devon and Cornwall Police say a young girl was among the five people killed by a gunman in Plymouth on Thursday evening.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer outlined what happened, calling it ''a truly shocking event".

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer has urged people not to contact police "unless it is truly an emergency as we are very, very busy".

Mr Sawyer confirmed a dedicated phone line for the investigation on 01752 487880 and called on any witnesses or anyone with information to contact them.