Family pay tribute to mum-of-two, 36, gunned down in Dartford ‘hostage’ siege as pals say she had ‘so much love to give’
TRIBUTES have poured in for a woman shot dead in an alleged hostage taking inside her own home.
Mum-of-two Hayley Burke, 36, died on Monday after being shot with a suspected handgun at home in Dartford, Kent, on Saturday.
She was rushed to hospital alongside a 29-year-old man following an hour-long standoff with police but succumbed to her injuries two days later.
The man, who also suffered a firearms injury, remains in a critical condition and is being treated as the suspect behind the horror.
A murder investigation into the alleged hostage taking on Priory Road is now underway.
Paying tribute, pals said Hayley had “so much love to give”.
While a man with the same surname as the mum shared love hearts, before adding: “RIP. Please give us time and space to grieve as a family.”
A friend also paid tribute, adding: “Her space in our lives will never be filled. She didn’t deserve any of this.”
And another added: “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.”
Police rushed to the scene at 12.40pm on Saturday following reports of a disturbance.
After a stand-off with a man inside, officers stormed the property by smashing through the front door.
Neighbours described how “pandemonium” erupted on the residential street as cops entered the home.
They claimed they heard two gunshots during the “chilling” incident.
The locals also said the woman was being “held hostage” by a man at the back of the terraced house.
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’. I went to the garden where I could see more.”
A Kent Police spokesman said: “Kent Police was called at 12.40pm on Saturday 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 while 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. 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.”