Police are probing whether an east London shooting which left a 42-year-old woman dead was “gang-linked”.

Lianne Gordon, described by neighbours as “a beautiful soul”, died and a 20-year-old man and 16-year-old boy were hurt in the attack in Vine Close, Hackney, on Tuesday evening.

The trio are believed to have known each other but were not related, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers are also trying to determine if the attack is linked to shots being fired in the same road days before.

In a statement at the scene, Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said: “I want to offer my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims and also to all of those affected in the wider community by this incident.

“It is important that we keep an open mind regarding motive and we will follow the evidence. It is too early in this investigation to comment further on motive, though we are considering the possibility that this was gang-linked.”

Mr Conway added: “We are also aware of a recent incident in which police were again called to shots being fired in Vine Close on the evening of Saturday December 2.

“In response to that separate incident, officers found shell casings at the scene but there was no trace of any victim or suspect.

“The Met specialist crime command is again continuing to investigate that separate incident. However, one of our lines of inquiry is to determine whether these two incidents are linked.”

Ms Gordon died at the scene of the shooting, while the two males were taken to hospital, where they remain in a non-life-threatening condition.

Earlier on Wednesday, local residents paid tribute to Ms Gordon as police officers and forensics teams continued their investigation at the scene.

Flowers were laid outside a police cordon alongside a card which said: “To Lianne: Such a beautiful soul gone too soon!”

Shohid Auddin, a resident of Vine Close, told reporters Ms Gordon had recently come back from a holiday.

He said: “She was very nice and chatty, she talked to us all the time.

“My mum doesn’t speak English but they understood each other. She had two children – my youngest daughter was the same age as hers.

“She used to talk to everybody, I never saw her upset, she was always smiling.”

Lucinda Leadette, 68, whose family were friends with Ms Gordon, described her as “bubbly and outgoing”.