A mum of two who was killed when she was taken hostage in her own home and shot during a police stand-off with a gunman has been named locally as friends gave glowing tributes
Armed officers from Kent Police and trained negotiators were called to a home in Dartford on Saturday afternoon.
They attempted to engage with a man inside who was holding a woman, 36, hostage but she was found with injuries believed to be from a handgun.
She was taken to a London hospital but later died last from her injuries.
The victim has been named locally as Hayley Burke - and her brother posted a link to his sibling online paying tribute.
He wrote on Facebook: "RIP - please give us time and space to grieve as a family."
One friend told Kent Online: "Hayley was the loudest friend in the group and never failed to have everyone laughing.
“Hayley loved her children with every inch of her heart. Everything she did was for her boys – they were her life.
“Hayley would do anything for anybody but wasn't afraid to tell you if you took the mick. She was so brutally honest – it was one of her best character traits. If you wanted an honest opinion you would always ask Hayley.”
The friend added Hayley had "so much love and life to give".
Friend Jordan Desna said in a tribute: “I'm really going too miss you Hay.
“Most brazen but loveable brutally honest but kind person I've ever known.
“Always me you and Harley, three priory road musketeers wish when I moved I took you both with me.
“Never deserved what happened to you.”
The man, 29, was also rushed to the hospital with a firearms injury and remains in critical condition.
He is being treated as a suspect as the investigation has shifted from a firearms incident to a murder investigation.
Over the weekend neighbours described being told to stay inside and said the police entered the property after about an hour.
One said: "I was in the house and my husband and two girls were out - they couldn't get back home.
"I went out and was told, 'Get back - you must stay indoors."
The woman's home remained cordoned off in the days following her death, and forensics teams have been seen entering the property.
A spokesman for Kent Police said: "An investigation into a firearms incident at a property in Dartford is now being treated as murder after the victim died in hospital.
"Kent Police was called at 12.40pm on Saturday 6 May 2023, to a report of a disturbance at a property in Priory Road, Dartford.
"Officers, along with a trained police negotiator, attended and attempted to engage with a man inside the address.
"Firearms officers also attended and whilst they were at the scene, a 36-year-old woman suffered injuries believed to have been caused by a handgun and she was taken to a London hospital.
"The victim died from her injuries shortly before the evening of Monday 8 May.
"The man, aged 29, was also taken to hospital with a firearms injury and he remains in a critical condition.
"He is being treated as the suspect and an investigation is being led by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate."
Kent Police has now referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for further investigations.
A spokesman for the IOPC said: “We have received a referral from Kent Police and we are assessing the available information to decide whether any further action is required."
