A rookie NYPD officer shot an innocent unarmed father-of-one dead by accident as he walked down a dark stairwell, police have revealed. The department's Internal Affairs Bureau has launched an investigation after Peter Liang entered a housing project in Brooklyn and shot Akai Gurley in the chest as his horrified girlfriend watched. The officer, who joined the force in 2013, raised his gun and fired when he heard noises. Scroll down for video Innocent victim: Akai Gurley, 28, (pictured left and right in an old booking photo) was shot and killed by rookie cop Peter Liang as he entered a stairwell in a public housing project in Brooklyn
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Peter Liang shot Akai Gurley in the chest in a 'pitch black' stairwell
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Cop was with partner Shaun Landau when he was patrolling Pink Houses
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Gurley, 28, was hit in the chest while standing with girlfriend Melissa Butler
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She claimed the officers did not present themselves before the encounter
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Commissioner Bill Bratton said the victim was a 'total innocent'
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Told a press conference that 'everything points to accidental discharge'
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Liang has been stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty
When her boyfriend collapsed, @placeholder tried to perform CPR after dialing 911 and asked neighbors to try and help revive him.