Around 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, November 20th, "nervous" rookie police officer Peter Liang fatally shot unarmed 28-year-old Akai Gurley for no apparent reason at all, inside of the Pink Houses Brooklyn project.  Officer Lang and his partner were in the process of performing a routine "vertical patrol" of the building when the fatal shooting occurred in the stairwell on the seventh floor.

For some odd reason, Lang had his gun drawn after he "heard a noise," and opened fired on Gurley once he entered the stairway.  Gurley happened to be with this girlfriend, 27-year-old Melissa Butler, at the time of the shooting.  Ms. Butler, who had been dating Gurley since January 2011, described the terrifying and sudden police shooting that sadly took her boyfriend's life.

"They didn't identify themselves," she said.  ""No nothing. They didn't give no explanation. They just pulled a gun and shot him in the chest."

After fleeing down a couple flights of stairs, they made their way into a neighbor's house, where Bulter recalled talking to her dying boyfriend before he lost consciousness.

"Yo, you OK? Talk to me!" she shouted at him. "He wasn't saying nothing. That was the last thing I said to him."

Gurley later died at Brookdale University Hospital.  NYPD Commissioner William Bratton addressed the tragic shooting at a press conference today, November 21st, where he described Gurley as "a total innocent."  

"What happened last night was a very unfortunate tragedy," Bratton said.  "It appears this may have been in fact an accidental discharge.  As the officers were entering the eighth-floor landing, the lights were not operable.  Everything points to accidental discharge. 

"It was dark. He must have been nervous.  But as in all cases, an officer would have to justify the reasoning for unholstering his firearm.  The deceased was not engaged in any activity other than trying to enter the stairwell."

New York City Council member Charles Barron expressed his utter disgust over the shooting.

"They didn't find a gun," he said.  "And believe me, if he had anything, if he had a slingshot, they would have put that in the report. This is incredible.  I want to hear the justification for this one."

Liang has since been placed on probation and had his badge and gun stripped from him while an investigation is conducted.  Since news broke of this unwarranted shooting, many Twitter users have come forward sharing their reactions to the news.  Check out what they had to say above.

Source: NYPost/NYDailyNews