Valentine’s Day pub shooting victim named as Lisa Smith, 43, from Slough

A woman shot dead at a Kent pub has been named by police as 43-year-old Lisa Smith from Slough.

Police are continuing to search areas of the River Thames after a suspect linked to a murder in Knockholt is believed to have fallen from the Queen Elizabeth II bridge.

Kent Police was called at 7.02pm on Friday to Main Road, Knockholt, where a woman in her 40s had suffered gunshot wounds.

The woman, who is believed to be a mother of two, died at the scene.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “Whilst the victim has not yet been formally identified, she has been named as Lisa Smith, aged 43, and who was from Slough.

“A car and firearm linked to the suspect were later recovered next to the Dartford Crossing.

“The suspect, a man known to the victim, is reported to have been seen on the wrong side of a bridge barrier and officers are focusing efforts on searches to recover him from the water.”

Speaking on Saturday, Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector David Higham, said: “Call handlers received reports of a man on the wrong side of the barrier and we are not ruling out the possibility that he may have entered the water.

“We are currently only looking for one suspect and do not believe there to be an ongoing risk to the public.

“Specialist officers continue to work with the families of both parties involved to support them following this tragic incident.”

There had been no prior contact between the police and the victim or suspect.

Forensic officers in the pub’s car park on Saturday examining a blue Seat parked near the pub’s entrance.

The passenger side window had been smashed, and what looked to be bullet casings were pictured on the ground.

The landlady of a pub where a woman was fatally shot on Valentine’s Day has said she heard two loud bangs which sounded like fireworks.

Michelle Thomas, who runs The Three Horseshoes in Knockholt, Kent, told Sky News that as customers realised what had happened, they started “screaming, shouting and crying”.

Ms Thomas said she was preparing for the Valentine’s dinner service when she heard two loud bangs that she initially thought were fireworks.

Around 30 people were at the pub for dinner, while 20 more were in the bar as the incident unfolded just after 7pm, she said.

She added: “People were only just starting to sit down, it was early on in the evening.”

Ms Thomas also described how an off-duty firearms officer intervened to get the situation under control.

She told the broadcaster the victim had been to the pub before but “wasn’t a regular”.

More floral tributes were placed outside the pub over the weekend, with one saying: “Dear Lisa, rest in peace.”