Police continue to hunt shooter following Valentine's Day village murder

SWNS

A manhunt is still underway after a woman was shot and killed outside a village pub on Valentine's Day.  Diners heard loud shots outside of the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt, near Sevenoaks in Kent.  A spokesperson for police says they are not ruling out the possibility of the suspect having entered the water below the Dartford Crossing bridge.   Officers had been called to the pub shortly after 7pm on Friday night following reports of a “disturbance”.

Transcript

00:00Locals described the village of Knock Holt near Sevenoaks as a safe bubble,

00:04but after a woman was shot outside a pub on Valentine's Day, it shocked the close community.

00:09Couples were enjoying their Valentine's Day dinner here at the Three Horseshoes pub in the village of Knock Holt near Sevenoaks

00:16when they heard what they first thought might have been fireworks, but it was later revealed to be gunshots.

00:21Now there's a police cordon and a forensics team here at the scene,

00:24and there's also been reports of a car and firearm being found up by the Dartford Crossing

00:29as the investigations continue.

00:31Locals say they heard the gunshots around 7pm,

00:34with the police and South East Coast Ambulance Service arriving to the pub shortly after.

00:38The police have now told us that a woman in her 40s was pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds,

00:43and one resident who lives near the scene of the crime and is a regular at the Three Horseshoes

00:47arrived home just after the gunshots were heard.

00:50I was out all day, and as I say, I arrived home last night about 7.10pm,

00:57and as I was walking from the car up the side of the house,

01:01I could hear some women screaming and shouting, and then there was some guys shouting.

01:08I didn't know what had gone on because whatever happened, it happened just before I arrived home.

01:15According to locals, the area around the pub sees very little disorder from the regulars,

01:19and the incident was an abrupt shock.

01:21It took me completely by surprise and utterly shocked me

01:25because this sort of thing does not happen.

01:27It's a very quiet area of the community.

01:31I have represented the village of Knockholt together with the neighbouring villages

01:37of Halstead and Badgers Mount on Severn Oaks District Council for the past 18 years,

01:43and nothing remotely like this has happened in my entire time as a district councillor.

01:48Kent police say that officers also attended the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge near Dartford,

01:52where a car linked to the incident was recovered.

01:54A gun was also found within the vehicle and seized.

01:57Call handlers received reports of a man on the wrong side of the barrier,

02:00and we are not ruling out the possibility that he may have entered the water.

02:04We are currently only looking for one subject,

02:06and do not believe there to be an ongoing risk to the public.

02:09At the Three Horseshoes, police cordons were eventually taken down,

02:12and respects were paid by family and friends this weekend.

02:15Finn McDermid for KMTV in Knockholt.

Category

Transcript

Recommended