Glorification of Plymouth shooter by ?incels? prompts calls for action

The man who gunned down seven people, killing five, in a rampage in Plymouth is being lionised by an online "incel" community, with some ironically venerating him as a "saint" and celebrating the attack as an aid to their recruitment drive.

Jake Davison, 22, killed his mother, Maxine, 51, after a row before going on to fatally shoot four others and then himself in August last year. Before his death, he expressed misogynistic and homophobic tendencies, as well as angrily lamenting his failure to find a girlfriend.

He also shared hate-filled views on Reddit forums used by incels - men who express online hostility and resentment towards those who are sexually active, particularly women.

Analysis of online forums popular with incels by counter-extremism experts reveals the extent to which Davison's killings in August struck a chord with many who, like him, were drawn to the subculture.

Despite debate as to whether Davison was truly one of them, most of those posting on at least 13 threads hosted on the main English-language incel forum celebrated the attack, according to research shared with the Guardian by Moonshot, a counter-extremism tech company.

The killings also prompted speculation about where users believe another attack could occur and the possibility of media coverage of the attacks bringing an influx of new incels.

Recent data shows the number of visits to incel forums has increased by almost sixfold in nine months. The Times has reported that web traffic since March to three of the biggest incel sites has grown from 114,420 visits per month to 638,505.