Murder investigation launched after shots heard

Police investigating reports of shots being fired in a village have launched a murder investigation.

Officers were called to Railway Terrace, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, at about 00:33 BST, where a man was found with serious injuries. He later died.

Hertfordshire Police is linking the incident with the discovery minutes later of a white Volkswagen Golf on fire in Furtherfield, Abbots Langley.

A search of both areas is currently under way, with officers remaining at the scene. No arrests have been made.

A local woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that it was "scary and awful".

"I was just shocked," she said.

"It does scare me about taking the dog out for a walk of an evening now."

She said she was alerted by a group neighbourhood chat and was able to provide door-cam footage to police.

Another woman said: "We woke up to some loud bangs, maybe about eight of them at 12:30 this morning, we didn't think anything of it, thought it was a car backfiring, then woke up to lots of information about a shooting.

"We moved to Kings Langley because we thought it was a nice quiet neighbourhood, very safe, it's put a little bit of fear in us."

Another neighbour also said she had moved from London to a "safe quiet village" and the incident was "pretty terrifying".

Police confirmed officers were called "to reports of a shooting" in the early hours of Tuesday.

Three Rivers Ch Insp Andrew Palfreyman said: "We believe this was an isolated incident and there is not believed to be a wider threat to the public.

"I appreciate this will have concerned local members of the community and you can expect to see an increased police presence in the area and additional patrols."

Det Ch Insp Nick Gardner, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "This is a tragic loss of life, and our thoughts are very much with the victim’s family at this time.

"As part of our investigation we are appealing for any witnesses, CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage from the Railway Terrace and surrounding areas at the time of the incident."

He also asked for anyone travelling in the area of Kings Langley and/or Abbots Langley at about 00:30 to get in touch.

"No matter how insignificant the information may seem, it could help us with our enquiries," he added.

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