After the violent death of five people by a shooter in the south-west English city, criticism of the police is increasing. Would a review of the perpetrator have prevented the bloody act?
London – The English city of Plymouth is still in shock days after the bloody act with six dead. On Sunday, people in numerous churches in Devon remembered those killed with prayers. Many people laid flowers and stuffed animals near the crime scene.
The five victims of the murder on Thursday included the mother of the perpetrator, a three-year-old girl and her 43-year-old father. A 59 year old man and a 66 year old woman were also killed. Two people were also injured from gunshot wounds. The 22-year-old perpetrator Jake D. eventually killed himself.
In addition to sadness and bewilderment, criticism of the police is also growing. Just a few weeks before the crime, she had returned a gun and a gun license to the perpetrator, which had previously been confiscated due to alleged bodily harm. The independent police oversight authority announced that it would investigate the matter. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also called for a “proper investigation” into how the perpetrator could legally get hold of a weapon.
The incident also sparked a debate over whether the appearances of gun license holders on social media should be routinely checked by police. Jake D. had confessed to the misogynistic “incel” scene. The abbreviation comes from the English term “involuntary celibate” and primarily describes men who involuntarily abstain and develop hatred of women and sexually active men.
The former head of the London Metropolitan Police, John Stevens, called for a thorough screening of the Internet activities of applicants for gun licenses. “Guns don’t just fall into dangerous people’s laps,” he told the Sunday Telegraph. The chief of police in Devon and Cornwall, Shaun Sawyer, had previously confirmed that such a check had not taken place for data protection reasons.
The attacker should have been observed in advance by the security authorities, criticized the former chief prosecutor for North West England, Nazir Afzal. “He was exactly the kind of person the authorities should keep an eye on,” Afzal said on BBC television on Saturday.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer from the Labor Party brought a possible tightening of the already restrictive gun laws into play. “I think there are other questions here that could include a review of gun licensing laws,” Starmer told journalists on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the House of Lords Liberal Democrats spokesman for domestic affairs, Brian Paddick, accused Home Secretary Priti Patel of postponing recommendations on reforming the aptitude test for applicants. According to this, the routine consultation of general practitioners with regard to psychological problems of applicants was requested years ago. From the conservative ruling party, however, it was said that the opposition now wants to make political capital out of the incident. dpa
