The Plymouth gunman shot dead five people after having a row with his mother, an inquest has heard.

       Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother Maxine Davison, 51, at her home in Keyham before going outside and shooting dead four others in a 12-minute attack on the evening of August 12.

       Three-year-old Sophie Martyn and her father Lee, 43, were fatally shot in front of horrified onlookers as they walked their pet dog in Biddick Drive.

       Davison then shot Stephen Washington, 59, in a nearby park, before shooting Kate Shepherd, 66, on Henderson Place.

       The apprentice crane operator then turned the gun on himself before armed officers reached him.

       During a 10-minute hearing on Thursday, Ian Arrow, senior coroner for Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon, formally opened the inquests into Davison's victims and received evidence from police of identification and the brief circumstances of their deaths.

       Detective Steve Hambly, the senior investigating officer, told the hearing all five had died from shotgun wounds and the results of histology and toxicology tests were pending.

       He said Mrs Davison, a former trawler woman, had died at her home address in Biddick Drive, in the Keyham area of the city.

       "The circumstances of her death are that Maxine sustained fatal gunshot wounds following an argument with her son," he told the court.

       "Police are not looking for any other persons in connection with Maxine's death. On present evidence the medical cause of death has been ascertained as shotgun wounds to the torso and head."

       Davison received mental health support during the coronavirus lockdown and had been in contact with a telephone helpline service in Plymouth run by the Livewell Southwest organisation.

       Social media usage by Davison suggested an obsession with "incel" culture, meaning "involuntary celibate", as well as an interest in guns and the US.

       Reports have suggested Davison's mother had been struggling to get help for her son, having become concerned about his mental health.

       The coroner adjourned all inquests and fixed a provisional date for pre-inquest reviews on December 9.

       An inquest into Davison will be opened and adjourned later.