BBC's The Plymouth Shootings: 'I had to tell my dad his son and granddaughter were dead'

It has been almost three years since the devastating mass shooting in Plymouth that claimed the lives of five innocent people - and for the first time, the brother and uncle of two of the victims has spoken out in a new BBC documentary, saying: "I didn't think it would be him in a million years."

The harrowing, one-off documentary, titled The Plymouth Shootings, will air tonight on BBC Three, seeking to delve into how Jake Davison became one of Britain's most lethal killers, carrying out the largest mass shooting on UK soil in over a decade.

The 22-year-old shot and killed his mother and four other innocent passers-by on the evening of August 12, 2021, before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.

Read more:

• Plymouth shooting video shows Keyham gunman Jake Davison on evening of fatal shootings

• Plymouth shooting inquest: Timeline of August 12 in Keyham revealed to jury

And his first two victims upon exiting his mother's house after twice shooting her with his shotgun, were Lee Martyn, 43, and his three-year-old daughter, Sophie - who, tragically, just happened to be passing by on Biddick Drive, Keyham, at the time.

Now, for the first time since the devastating incident, Lee's brother Scott has spoken out as part of the documentary, recalling the moment he found out that Lee and Sophie had been killed.

Appearing towards the end of the episode, a tearful Scott said: "I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

He recalled that he first heard about the incident in a WhatsApp group chat he was part of, just as the news of the shooting in Keyham was breaking.

Scott says in the BBC episode: "I messaged my brother just out of precaution, I didn't think it would be him in a million years. It doesn't happen to you, does it? It happens to other people.

"Then I got the phonecall to tell me it was him. All I remember thinking was, 'I've got to put my shoes on to go and tell my dad'.

"The whole time from that moment in my flat, to walking into my dad's flat, the whole time I was thinking, 'What's the right way to tell him this?'.

"In the end I just had to say to him, 'There's no easy way to tell you this, dad. Lee and Sophie have been killed,'" Scott said, before breaking down in tears.

The documentary episode explores the 12 months leading up to Davison's shooting spree - and includes details of his involvement in the incel movement, a deeply misogynistic ideology that is seemingly growing at an alarming rate, and has been linked to violent extremism.

It also shows chilling CCTV footage of Davison beating up two youngsters in a skate park during a late-night walk, just 11 months before the shooting. The incident led to him having his shotgun, which he already owned, taken away from him - although it was later returned in July 2022, after he completed a course for the skate park assault.

At the close of the documentary, Scott concluded: "There's a multitude of things, from start to finish, from top to bottom.

"The fact he was allowed a gun licence in the first place, the fact the gun was taken off him and then given back to him, the fact that he was clearly ranting on social media all the time. The fact he was done for assault on a minor.

"I just hope they take steps to make sure this does not happen to anybody else again, because I wouldn't wish it on anybody. I really wouldn't."

You can watch the documentary tonight (Thurs) at 9pm on BBC Three.