She said that those responsible need to pay for Gurley’s funeral. Melissa Butler, 27, is seen here comforted by an unidentified woman. “As we continue to gather the facts, the fatal shooting of this unarmed man is deeply troubling and warrants an immediate, fair and thorough investigation,” said Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson.īutler said the officers never came down to check on the mortally wounded man, and medical help was only sent after she banged on a neighbor’s door for help. The Brooklyn district attorney and NYPD internal affairs were both investigating.Īs a probationary officer, Liang can be fired without a departmental hearing. Liang, who joined the force in July 2013, was placed on modified duty after turning in his gun and shield. The 2-year-old girl asked her mom on Friday afternoon why her father didn’t come to pick her up from day care. “He was going to say, ‘This is my family, mom.'” “It was going to be a surprise for his mom because she hasn’t seen him in a while,” said Kenneth Palmer, the dead man’s stepfather. Gurley, along with his daughter, was planning to leave on Friday for a Thanksgiving trip to Florida. Friday call from Butler to break the painful news. “Just celebrated his 28th birthday a couple days ago. “I can’t believe my Big Bro is actually gone man,” his sister Akisha Pringle wrote on Facebook. The only sound was the deafening echo of the gunshot in the stairwell at the Pink Houses.Īkai’s girlfriend walks with Congressman Charles Barron on the way to the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn. “It was a very human moment for them.”ĭevastated gal pal Butler, with tears pouring down her face earlier Friday, said Liang blasted Gurley without identifying himself or even addressing the couple. “They offered their apologies, condolences and support going forward so she was heartened by that…grateful,” Foy said. They didn’t speak to reporters, but Kirsten Foy, of the National Action Network, was inside the apartment during the meeting.įoy said the city’s top cop, the mayor and McCray hugged and kissed Kimberly Michelle Ballinger, a woman identified as Gurley’s “common-law wife” and the mother of his 2-year-old daughter. “… It appears this may have been in fact an accidental discharge.”īratton, along with de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray, visited Gurley’s family in Red Hook, Brooklyn, for about 10 minutes on Friday night. “What happened last night was a very unfortunate tragedy,” Bratton said Friday. His partner Landau never pulled his weapon from its holster.īratton and de Blasio agreed the shooting was a terrible mistake - although Liang had yet to tell his story to police. “I shot him accidentally,” the devastated cop confessed to his colleagues. Akai Gurley was accidentally shot and killed by a police officer in a Brooklyn building, cops said. The wounded man actually ran for his life after hearing the gunshot, and didn’t realize he was bleeding until collapsing on the fifth floor. A mark on the stairwell wall indicates the bullet ricocheted before striking Gurley. Liang was upstairs from Gurley when his gun accidentally fired as he opened the door, his partner Officer Shaun Landau told investigators.īut it was unclear if the left-handed Liang was holding the weapon in the same hand that he used to open the door. They opened the seventh-floor stairwell door at about the same instant that Liang and his partner entered from one floor up. Gurley and Butler, who had just finished braiding her boyfriend’s hair, only took the stairs because of a slow-moving elevator. Liang “heard a noise,” the police source told the News. 9 mm in his left hand and a flashlight in his right when he entered the stairwell around 11:15 p.m.
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