The girlfriend of a British astrophysicist killed after being struck by a stray bullet as he sat in bed has praised the love of her life.

Dr Matthew Wilson, 31, was in the US visiting the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with when the freak tragedy occurred. 

The 31-year-old had flown to Atlanta, Georgia to be with long-distance partner Katherine Shepherd and was staying in her home at the time.

When random shooting broke out nearby, she went over to the window to investigate and was about to call the police.

But when she turned around, the Surrey-born scientist was ‘slumped’ over and gravely injured by a bullet which had penetrated the wall of the house.

Katherine, who had been in a relationship with the ‘fantastic’ British scientist for three years, said she ‘loved him dearly’ and the pair had discussed getting married and having children.

She told The Sun: ‘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”

‘Then the shots started again and that’s when I heard a small explosion by the side of the bed.

‘I remember a piece of the wall hitting me on the leg. I turned on the light, looked round and Matthew was slumped in front of me. I could see he had been shot in the head.’

Katherne, who is also an astrophysicist, revealed she battled to stem the blood flow and begged her boyfriend to ‘stay with me’ but nothing could be done.

Sgt Jake Kissel, from Brookhaven Police, told BBC Radio Surrey that officers arrived at the scene to find her giving him first aid.

His sister, Kate Easingwood, 28, told The Times his family were struggling to process the randomness of the tragedy. 

She said: ‘The probability of this happening is just mind-boggling. 

‘I don’t know if we will ever accept how such reckless behaviour from someone who thought it was fun to shoot a gun resulted in a life-changing event for all of us.’

A Brookhaven Police Department spokesperson said yesterday: ‘This incident appears to be a random act involving individuals participating in the reckless discharge of firearm(s) which led to the tragic death of Dr Willson.

‘Dr Willson was in town from England visiting loved ones when the incident occurred.’

No arrests have been made so far.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in the USA, and are in contact with US authorities.’

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