Woman, 36, held hostage in house by ‘gunman’ on Coronation Day dies in hospital ‘after being shot’ – as cops launch murder probe
A woman shot in a hostage situation in her own home has now died in hospital of her fatal gunshot wounds.
The 29-year-old man suspected of shooting the 36-year-old woman is also in a critical condition in hospital after being shot himself.
Police are now treating the woman’s death in Dartford, Kent, as a murder.
Neighbours reported hearing gunshots at the property after armed police officers stormed the terraced house on the day of King Charles III’s coronation last Saturday.
The officers together with a trained negotiator were called to the address in the afternoon following reports of a ‘disturbance’ at the property and attempted to engage with a man at the address.
Scared neighbours were told to stay inside and said ‘pandemonium’ broke out after a lengthy standoff of around an hour – before up to ten gunshots were heard.
A property in Dartford remains on police lockdown with cordons and a crime scene
Some locals said the woman had been ‘held hostage’ by a man at the rear of the property, and one local woman described the scene as ‘chilling’.
She added: ‘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”.
‘I went to the garden where I could see more.’
Around an hour after police entered the property, the witness said she heard gunshots before seeing a person carried out on a stretcher.
‘It was pandemonium’, she said. ‘I heard five gunshots – a pause and then another five.’
The female victim suffered gunshot wounds believed to have been caused by a handgun and was rushed to a hospital in London, where she sadly died on Monday evening.
Her assailant was also taken to a London hospital with a ‘firearms injury’ and remains in a critical condition – though it has been reported that no police weapons were discharged during the incident.
A spokesperson 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 12.40 pm on Saturday 6 May 2023, to a report of a disturbance at a property in Priory Road.
‘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.’
The woman’s home remained cordoned off in the days following her death, and forensics teams have been seen entering the property.
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.’
