Mother of gunman and three-year-old girl named as victims of mass shooting in UK

The mother of a gunman who shot dead six people in Plymouth has been named as one of the victims in the UK's biggest mass shooting in over a decade.  

Maxine Davison, 51, was shot by her son Jake Davison when he opened fire at her home  on Biddick Drive in the suburb of Keyham on Thursday (local time).  

The gunman then ran into the street and fatally shot three-year-old Sophie Martyn and her father Lee Martyn. 

Davison then ran into a nearby park where he fatally shot Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd.   

Mass shootings are rare in the United Kingdom, where gun ownership is relatively low, and Thursday's six-minute rampage was the worst such incident in more than decade.

Police on Friday named Jake Davison as the shooter, a 22-year-old crane operator. He turned his gun on himself after killing the five victims on Thursday evening.

Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said police had found no motive but they were not considering terrorism or any far-right associations, although they were trawling through Davison's computer.

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

The shooting started at about 6 pm on Thursday local time, with the offender first killing his mother Maxine Davison.

He then ran outside and immediately shot dead the young girl, Sophie Martyn, in the street along with her father Lee Martyn, 43.

Davison shot at two other passers-by who were badly injured, then entered a park and shot dead Washington, 59. He also shot Shepherd, 66, who died later in hospital.

Davison then turned the gun on himself before firearms officers could tackle him. The deadly shooting spree was over in just a few minutes.

Sawyer said witnesses described the weapon as a pump-action shotgun. He could not say whether or not Davison had mental health issues.

Britain's police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said it will investigate the police decision to return a shotgun and license for it to Davison last month after taking them from him eight months ago because of an assault allegation.

In videos posted on the internet, Davison had complained of not losing his virginity as a teenager and described himself as an "incel" - or involuntary celibate. He complained in the videos of being beaten down by life, the Times reported.

Britain has suffered a number of deadly militant attacks in the past several years, but this was the worst mass killing of its kind since a taxi-driver killed 12 people then shot himself in a rampage in Cumbria, northern England, in June 2010.

The deadliest mass shooting in Britain’s modern history is the 1996 massacre in Dunblane, Scotland, when a gunman killed 16 pupils and a teacher at the local school before killing himself.