Woman shot dead on doorstep of Clapton home

Police began a murder inquiry today after a 26-year-old woman was shot on the doorstep of her home in east London.

Emergency services were called to a house in Clapton at about 8.30pm yesterday.

The woman, who is Turkish, was found with fatal injuries and pronounced dead at the scene.

Scotland Yard said officers knew the identity of the woman and her family had been informed of her death. A spokesman added that there had been no arrests.

Detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime squad were launching an inquiry today and appealed for witnesses to the attack. A post-mortem examination was taking place this morning.

Kingsmead Way is a road lined with five-storey blocks of flats that runs off Homerton Road, near Mabley Green, in Hackney. The road is part of the huge Kingsmead Estate, an area of high-rise flats.

The estate was sealed off today as forensic science officers searched for clues.

Officers were carrying out door-to-door inquiries and taking details of anyone entering or leaving the area.

Sources said the murder appeared to be domestic and a hunt was under way for the killer.

The woman was said to have been shot on her doorstep although it was not clear if she had been at home and answered the door to someone or whether she had been attacked as she returned home.

Police could not say this morning if the woman was married or had children. However, sources played down any possible links with the gang war involving Turkish gangs that led to three firearm murders in north London last year.