Ashley Dale was discovered injured in her back garden in Old Swan, Liverpool, early Sunday morning and died a short time later in hospital.
Merseyside Police said her door had been forced open and several shots fired.
Det Ch Supt Mark Kameen, said the 28-year-old was an “innocent member of the public” who was “callously and thoughtlessly shot.”
According to a police spokesman, the council worker was discovered with gunshot wounds in the garden of her home on Leinster Road around 12.20am and died a short time later in hospital.
Ms Dale’s family said in a statement that she was “a hardworking young woman with her entire life ahead of her” and had “just been promoted at her job with Knowsley Council.
She had a degree and “so many plans for her bright future that had only just begun,” and her “laugh, smile, and energy was infectious in any room,” they said.
“We can’t believe this could happen to a defenceless woman in her own home,” they said.
Ms Dale was the half-sister of Lewis Dunne, a 16-year-old who was killed in a case of mistaken identity in Liverpool in 2015.
Mr Kameen, who confirmed that no arrests had been made, said he wanted the community to feel “utter disgust, revulsion, and shock” at the “tragic” and “senseless” death.
He urged everyone to “work together” to find those responsible.
He described Ms Dale as a “vulnerable member of the public.”
“She was in her own home… and she was shot callously and thoughtlessly by people who have no regard for anyone in our community, no regard for the law,” he said.
In an appeal for witnesses, he added that the police were especially interested in information about a vehicle seen driving erratically on nearby Prescot Road.
Contact police on Twitter @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111, quoting reference 22000615873.