US police say a bullet struck and killed Matthew Willson in his girlfriend Katherine Shepard's unit. -AP
A stray bullet has killed an English astrophysicist while he was inside an Atlanta-area apartment and US police say the death was the result of "reckless" gunfire by random individuals.
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Matthew Willson, 31, of Chertsey, Surrey, England, was shot once in the head while laying in bed, Brookhaven police said.
The shooting happened early on Sunday morning.
Willson was in Brookhaven visiting his girlfriend Katherine Shepard.
She told WSB-TV that the bullet came through the wall of her apartment from a neighbouring apartment complex.
She called emergency services.
"I held him for another 20 minutes while we waited for the ambulance," she said.
"And while we were waiting, there were more gunshots fired."
Willson was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Police said the shooting appeared to be a "random act involving individuals participating in the reckless discharge" of a gun or guns.
