Davison, a crane operator, started shooting at around 6pm on Thursday, first killing a woman he knew in a house in Biddick Drive in the southern English city of Plymouth, police said.

He ran out of the house and immediately shot dead a very young girl who was walking her dog in the street along with her male relative.

Davison shot at two other passers-by who were badly injured, then entered a park and shot dead another man before killing another woman in Henderson Place.

He then turned the gun on himself before firearms officers could tackle him. The deadly shooting spree was over in just a few minutes, Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said.

“There is no motive,” Sawyer told reporters, adding that police were not considering terrorism or any far-right associations, though police were trawling through his computer.

“We believe we have an incident that is domestically related, that has spilled into the street and seen several people within Plymouth losing their lives in an extraordinarily tragic circumstance,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer said witnesses described the weapon as a pump action shotgun. He could not say whether or not Davison had mental health issues. Davison had a firearms licence.

In videos posted on the internet, Davison had complained of not losing his virginity as a teenager and described himself as an “incel” – or involuntary celibate. He complained in the videos of being beaten down by life, the Times reported.

Shootings are relatively rare in the UK, where gun ownership is not widespread.