Stray bullet kills English astrophysicist visiting Atlanta
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. (AP) — A stray bullet struck and killed an English astrophysicist while he was inside an Atlanta-area apartment, authorities say.
Matthew Willson, 31, of Chertsey, Surrey, England, was visiting his girlfriend in the United States when he was hit by a bullet that pierced the wall of the apartment. The shooting happened early Sunday morning, only three days into his visit.
“He was supposed to be here for three months because we’ve been long distance for a while,” Katherine Shepard, his girlfriend of three years, told WSB-TV. “I picked him up from the airport, took him to his favorite eating location, and the next day, he’s gone.”
Shepard, whose apartment is in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, said that the couple woke up on Jan. 16 to the sound of more than 30 gunshots coming from an apartment complex directly behind Shepard’s. A bullet traveled through Shepard’s wall, hitting Willson, she said.
Police were in the vicinity pursuing reports of gunfire when the 911 call came in. Sgt. Jake Kissel of the Brookhaven criminal investigations division said that once officers arrived at the scene, they rendered aid until paramedics arrived.
