Police have named a man they are hunting after a young woman was shot in the head at close range as she sat in the garden of her Oxfordshire home.
Officers are searching for 20-year-old Billy Johnson following the killing of Kerry Reeves, 26, who was shot outside her flat in Abingdon.
Detectives said Johnson was possibly armed and warned members of the public not to approach him but to dial 999 if he is spotted.
Reeves was shot, probably by a handgun, at around 8.20pm on Tuesday evening. She was taken to the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford but died on Thursday after her life support machine was turned off.
Reeves’s mother, Nicola, paid tribute to her daughter, saying: “My beautiful, funny daughter was brutally taken from me aged just 26. Holding her in my arms for the last time is something a mother should never have to go through. Trying to take in how she looked, kissing her, never wanting to let her go. Myself and Kerry’s family are completely devastated not only by the loss of our beautiful young girl but the horrific way Kerry was taken from us.”
A 20-year-old man from Ealing, London, who was initially arrested on suspicion of the murder, was released on police bail until next month and police took the unusual step of naming the man they want to speak to.
DS Chris Ward, head of the Thames Valley police major crime unit, described the killing as brutal and said her family was devastated. He said: “We are now actively seeking a suspect in this case. His name is Billy Johnson and he is a 20-year-old man from the Abingdon area. I’m satisfied that he has access to a firearm and he has previously carried weapons, so he is dangerous. He should not be approached. He is wanted and he still has possession of a firearm.”
The murder weapon has not been found and detectives said that they were unable to confirm what kind of gun had been used to kill Reeves but said it was possibly a handgun.
Johnson is described as 5ft 6in tall, with short brown hair and blue eyes. He has a “Mum” tattoo on his right arm, as well as a tattoo of the phrase “life is precious” on his right hand. Police said he had links to west London and Corby in Northamptonshire where he was born.
Detectives said there did not appear to be any links to organised crime or drugs. But Ward said one line of inquiry was that the shooting took place as part of a feud. He said Reeves had been shot at close range but he did not think she would have seen the gunman.
Ward said: “We are satisfied that the person or persons who murdered Kerry knows her. It is relatively contained in that it is between these individuals. He does [present a risk to the public]. Having said that, the risk is relatively low because this is possibly a feud between some individuals. But you cannot get away from the fact that he is out there, he has access to a firearm, so he has to have an element of risk.”
Ward added: “People are very shocked and they are very concerned. It’s a small community and these things don’t happen in Abingdon. Even people that didn’t know Kerry are quite distressed about what has happened. We have the determination to find those people responsible as quick as we can and we need the community’s help to do that.”
A postmortem examination will take place on Monday.