A young British astrophysicist was shot dead in bed with his girlfriend when a stray bullet smashed through the wall of her apartment.
Matthew Willson, 31, was hit in the head by a shot fired from around 780ft away – moments after being woken by the sound of 'rapid gunfire' as he slept alongside his American partner Katherine Shepard, 26.
Dr Willson, described by his family as a 'beautiful soul', had only arrived in the US two days earlier to be reunited with his girlfriend of three years, who he had met while studying for his post-doctorate at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Devastated Miss Shepard told the Daily Mail of the moment she realised he had been hit after hearing up to 50 shots outside the building.
'I was kneeling on my bed looking out of the window to see if I could see anything,' she said.
Devoted: This is the last picture taken of Matthew Willson with his girlfriend Katherine Shepard after he flew to America to see her. The 31-year-old was hit in the head by a shot fired from around 780ft away – moments after being woken by the sound of 'rapid gunfire' as he slept alongside Miss Shepard
Devastated Miss Shepard told the Daily Mail of the moment she realised he had been hit after hearing up to 50 shots outside the building. 'I was kneeling on my bed looking out of the window to see if I could see anything. I felt the bed move – Matt was possibly getting up – and there was a tiny explosion in our room,' she said. (Above, the apartment block where the couple were sleeping)
'I felt the bed move – Matt was possibly getting up – and there was a tiny explosion in our room.
'Then I heard Matt's breathing change and I asked if he was OK.'
She said it was when he started to slump over that she turned on the light: 'I saw he'd been shot in the head and screamed.'
As her flatmate called the emergency services, Miss Shepard tried to administer first aid.
When an ambulance arrived 20 minutes later, shots were still ringing out from an area near a car park about 780ft away.
'I knelt on the bed holding a towel to his head and talking to him and shaking him whenever he started closing his eyes,' Miss
