Police were called to a garden in Leinster Road, Liverpool, at around 12.40 am on Sunday.
After arriving at the scene, officers found Ms Dale with gunshot wounds.
She was treated at the address, before being taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
In a statement, Merseyside Police Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Kameen said: "This clearly was a very shocking incident which has led to the death of a young woman.
“I understand how frightening incidents like this can seem to ordinary members of the public and in the coming hours and days we will be speaking to people living in the local and wider community to reassure them of the ongoing work we are doing to find the person or people responsible.
"Gun crime has no place on the streets of Merseyside and we will leave no stone unturned to bring those responsible for justice.
“An investigation is under way and a number of lines of enquiry are currently being investigated.
Ashley Dale
Family handout
"The community, as always, are our eyes and ears and we know that there may be people living locally who saw or heard something in the early hours which may prove to be significant to our investigation.
“I would urge those people to please come forward and tell us what they know. If you live or work locally and have private CCTV or a Ring doorbell please check it to see if it captured anything which may assist us.
"Similarly I would ask taxi and delivery drivers if they were driving in the area to check their dashcam footage.
“We are particularly keen to find anyone who saw a vehicle being driven erratically in the area around Prescot Road.”
"Information and video footage can shared directly with the investigation team via the police public portal. You can also contact us via social media @MerPolCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting reference 22000615873."
Tributes have already began pouring in for Ms Dale, with one person writing on Facebook: "Heart breaking this. Rip Ashley taken far too young."
While another described the 28-year-old as: “Such a lovely girl.”