Woman shot dead at Kent pub on Valentine's Day named by police

A woman who was shot dead at a village pub in Kent on Valentine's Day has been named by police.

Lisa Smith, 43, from Slough was pronounced dead outside The Three Horseshoes in Knockholt on Friday evening.

The suspect, who is believed to have known the victim, fled in a car that was found a few hours later on the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, which crosses the River Thames in Dartford, 17 miles away.

Flowers on Sunday 16/02 laid outside The Three Horseshoes in the village of Knockholt, in Kent following the fatal shooting of a woman on Valentine's Day evening. Source SN
Image: Tributes were left for Lisa Smith who was known to the pub landlady
Sunday 16/02/2025 GVs from The Three Horseshoes pub in the village of Knockholt, Kent, where a woman was shot on Friday night. 
Ingest 26 NM26 SAF SEVENOAKS PUB SHOOTING MURDER GVS
Image: Flowers were laid near the scene of the shooting

Police, who discovered a gun inside the vehicle, said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.

In a statement, Kent Police said it is believed the suspect fell from the bridge and "officers are focusing efforts on searches to recover him from the water".

map to illustrate key locations in fatal shooting of a woman at a pub in Knockholt in Kent on Valentine's Day. Sevenoaks is just the nearest town. Dartford Crossing is where the suspect's car was found abandoned
Image: The murder happened in Knockholt, near Sevenoaks, and the suspect abandoned his car at the Dartford Crossing

Michelle Thomas, who runs The Three Horseshoes pub near Sevenoaks, told Sky News she heard two loud bangs that she initially "thought were fireworks" on the night of the shooting.

She described the aftermath, describing "so much commotion - screaming, shouting, crying" and adding the attack had left the community in "absolute shock".

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She said the victim, Ms Smith, had been to the pub before "mostly in the summer" but "wasn't a regular".

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