It’s just someone messing around

The last words of top British scientist killed by stray bullet fired from up to 300ft away

A BRITISH scientist killed in the US told his terrified girlfriend that a burst of gunfire was just people ‘messing around’ – seconds before a stray bullet killed him.

Police say the shot was fired up to 300ft away and the bullet travelled through the exterior wall of a block of flats before striking Dr Matthew Willson in the head. The 31-year-old astrophysicist died just two days into his trip to Atlanta, Georgia, to visit his girlfriend, Katherine Shepard. The couple were in bed when they were awoken at 2am by shooting. Yesterday, Ms Shepard, 26, described how she cradled him in her arms as he died. She said she remains ‘in disbelief’ over the tragedy.

Ms Shepard, who had dated Dr Willson, from Chertsey, Surrey, for three years, told WSB-TV in Atlanta: ‘He was supposed to be here for three months because we’ve been long distance for a while. I picked him up from the airport, took him to his favourite eating location – and the next day he’s gone.’

Police are treating the death as a homicide, but have described it as ‘a random act involving the reckless discharge of firearms’.

Ms Shepard said the couple were in bed in her apartment in the upmarket suburb of Brookhaven when they were awoken by ‘more than 30 shots’ being fired last Sunday.

She added: ‘I turned to Matthew and said, “I’m going to call the cops.”

‘His last words were, “Sure, I’m sure they are just messing around.” 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.

‘Then I heard Matt’s breathing change and I asked if he was OK.’

She said she turned on the light, adding: ‘He had started to slump over. I saw he’d been shot in the head and started screaming.

‘I knelt on the bed holding a towel to his head and talking to him and shaking him whenever he started closing his eyes. He looked like he was looking at me, but he wasn’t talking at all and he was struggling to breathe.

‘I just felt panic. While we were waiting for the ambulance there were more gunshots fired.’

Her flatmate, Aman Kar, called emergency services immediately, but by the time an ambulance arrived 20 minutes later Dr Willson was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead in a local hospital a short time later.

Mr Kar said: ‘I heard Katherine screaming and ran into her room. She kept saying, “Matt’s been shot.” A bullet had come through the wall under the bedroom window, passed through the headboard and hit him in the head, leaving a giant wound.’

Ms Shepard, who met her boyfriend when he was studying at nearby Georgia State University, said gunfire continued even as rescue workers fought to save her boyfriend.

Neighbours have reported multiple incidents of gunshots in the night.

A police spokesman said: ‘We do not believe this is gang related. We believe this is a random act of individuals discharging firearms recklessly. No arrests have been made. The area is considered a generally safe area. We don’t typically deal with a whole lot of gun violence.’

Dr Willson lived in Chertsey with his parents Pauline and Robert and worked remotely for the University of Liege in Belgium as a post-doctoral researcher. He was a former PhD student at the University of Exeter.

His sister Kate Easingwood, 28, said: ‘The world is so unfair. It is such a senseless act that has taken Matthew away from us. He had so much to give. He wanted a family and to settle down and all of that with Katherine, who is part of our family. He was such a wise and joyful person, such a beautiful soul.’

‘The world is so unfair… he had so much to give’