Teacher saw 'no indication' when she spoke to gunman night before killings
His former teacher was also a reference in his 2017 shotgun application
Plymouth gunman Jake Davison's former teacher today revealed she was in contact with him the night before he killed five people
Josephine Duffy, from Mount Tamar school for children with special needs, was asked by Davison for help with a passport application.
She says there was 'no indication at all' and when she learnt what happened the next day she was 'devastated'.
Ms Josephine Duffy was the head of science and a head of his final year group, which carried a pastoral role.
She told the ongoing inquest that she was happy to act as a passport reference - even though Davison had left the school by this point. After trying to fill out the online form that night she discovered Irish passport-related rules prevented her from doing it.
Ms Duffy also revealed she was a reference in Davison's 2017 application for a shotgun - which she agreed to after arranging a meeting with Jake and his mum at their house beforehand.
During his time at the school, Ms Duffy said Davison had a 'special interest' in guns, artillery, firearms technology, history and evolution - which would have made him a 'good historian' or 'museum tour guide in another life'.
She believed the special interest - partly due to autism - was a 'healthy focus' for him at the time and he even gave an assembly on the subject to staff and pupils. He was also once given the head teachers' award for his progress, which included improvements to his social skills.
When Davison first emailed Ms Duffy asking for a gun licence reference, she visited his house and said he looked 'well' ánd told her 'life was good' and he was still in touch with school friends. She recalled that mum Maxine looked 'happy and relaxed' and the teacher was told Jake was going to the gym and had an apprenticeship as a scaffolder. Ms Duffy was told the weapon was for clay pigeon shooting and he already went to Cornwall with his uncle to go clay pigeon shooting. Ms Duffy told the inquest Jake's mum thought it would be 'fantastic to get him out the house and have a hobby'.
When asked about the conversation - over Facebook - on August 11, 2021 the night before the shootings, she told the jury: "As usual (he was) very polite, thanked me for my help, didn't seem agitated."
She added that the 'next day I was completely devastated by what happened' and 'there was no indication at all'.
The jury were told Davison had expressed an interest in being a sniper while younger, which later became an aspiration to running a firearms-related business or shooting range in America.
In May 2013 he was referred to CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services) for an 'obsession' with guns which had been present for 'some years' and become his 'sole interest' 'taking up much of his time researching and writing about firearms'.
The report found he had 'marked difficulties' due to his autism and although presented an obsession that 'potentially’ posed a risk he 'does not currently pose a risk to himself or others'.
When asked why the report was not mentioned to police directly by Ms Duffy as part of her reference , she said she 'did not have access to all the information at the time' as she didn't know 'what was available' - but in 'retrospect ‘I should have asked'.
When asked, Ms Duffy said she now wishes there was a 'referee's checklist' to have helped her respond with any appropriate information. Ms Duffy reiterated that she did not have any concerns when she acted a shotgun licence reference.
She explained her role as 'head of year' in Davison's final year was about 'day-to-day housekeeping' and 'we do share far more information these days' than in 2017.
Barry Jones, the former head of Mount Tamar for 12 years, between 2000 and 2012, said Davison had an 'unhealthy interest' in weapons, in an Independent Office of Police Conduct Investigation interview.
He said, in the statement, 'if you gave him a gun you're asking for trouble'.
The former head also said he would not have given a 'positive reference' and it was the 'wrong decision'.
The inquest was read a statement from a teacher who was twice placed into a headlock by Davison - saying he thought he’d studied how to do it and planned it and wasn't anything personal.
He told the IOPC: "Jake had something in him that he would act out when he was angry about something'.
Richard Williams, a teacher between 2006-15, said many pupils there were 'volatile and vulnerable' and remembered teaching assistants in Davison's early years saying 'something's wrong with him, he going to kill someone'.
Mr Williams said he never felt on 'high alert' around Davison.
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