A mother of two killed after being shot after a gunman took her hostage in her own home has been named locally as Hayley Burke – with Kent Police likely to confirm the name this morning. Friends and relatives have offered warm tributes to the 36-year-old, who died of her injuries at a London hospital the day after Saturday’s stand-off, which played out just as millions were watching King Charles III’s Coronation.
Armed police and trained negotiators were called to Priory Road, in Dartford, at 12.40pm, after reports that a man had taken a woman hostage there.
Despite attempts to engage with him, by the time they managed to get into the property she had been shot.
The gunman, aged 29, was also injured and remains in a London hospital in critical condition. Police yesterday confirmed they had launched a murder investigation after the woman’s death.
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.”
She added: “Her space in our lives will never be filled.
“She didn’t deserve any of this.
“She had so much love and life to give.”
The property is still cordoned off, with forensics officers seen entering.
Speaking yesterday, a Kent Police spokesman 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 and Essex Serious Crime Directorate is leading the investigation, with Kent Police having referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
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.”
Kent Police are likely to confirm the victim’s identity today, Express.co.uk understands.
