Friend questions police shooting

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/kent/6746121.stm

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A friend of a woman shot dead by police in Kent has questioned whether it was necessary for her to be killed.

Ann Sanderson, 37, was shot in the car park of a department store in Sevenoaks after armed officers were called out to reports of a woman seen with a gun.

Her next-door neighbour, Vivian Bain, of Bethel Road, Sevenoaks, described her as a "kind and lovely" person.

"How could they kill her outright? Couldn't they have shot her arm... rather than kill her?" she asked.

Another neighbour, Victor Mayes, said he knew Ms Sanderson as "Tosh".

'Single gunshot'

"When she first came here about nine years ago she was a little reclusive and a little guarded and in time she started to loosen up."

He said her death had left local residents extremely shocked.

Ms Sanderson, who worked at a guitar string factory in Sevenoaks, died in the early hours of Monday.

It is thought she was the first woman to have been shot dead by UK police for nearly 27 years.

Floral tribute

Witnesses described hearing a single gunshot at about 0300 BST in the rear car park of a department store based in Sevenoaks High Street.

An investigation into the shooting is being carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The IPCC said a firearm was recovered at the scene, but would not comment further on exactly what it was.

A post-mortem examination was being carried out on Ms Sanderson on Tuesday.

A single, anonymous floral tribute has been left at the spot where she died.