Shootings in US not a deterrent for Chinese
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Brave, serious, diligent. That's how two Chinese graduate students who were shot and killed near the University of Southern California campus were described during a candlelight vigil attended by hundreds of students.
Clay Dube, executive director of the USC-China Institute, spoke to the parents of Wu Ying and Qu Ming on behalf of the university, and said that they were shocked and devastated by the phone call.
"The families have invested so much in these children, so much love, so much hope, and the children know that. They know the expectation is they will come here and succeed," Dube said at Wednesday night's vigil.
Wu and Qu, both 23, who police say were believed to have been dating, were killed when a gunman opened fire on them while they were sitting in a BMW outside Wu's apartment early on Wednesday, just after midnight. Police said it may have been a robbery or carjacking attempt.
The driver, Qu, was able to make it from the car, through the rain, to a house where he pounded on the door pleading for help.
Both were dead by the time they were taken to hospital.
Both victims were studying electrical engineering. Wu hailed from Hunan Province in central China, and Qu from the northeastern Jilin Province.
Candles in the shape of a heart and white roses and lilies sat at the foot of the Tommy Trojan statue, the university's collegiate symbol, where grieving students and staff gathered for the vigil.
The slayings shook the campus, which has a large international student population, and laid bare a parent's worst nightmare: having their child harmed in a faraway place.
The international student presence at USC is enormous - it has the largest number of any university in the US. Roughly 19 percent of its 38,000 students are from overseas, 2,500 from China.
Some students said the shooting could be a cautionary tale for others who want to study overseas.
Several shots were fired
"If parents hear about this in China, it might affect their decision," said Chrissy Yao, a Chinese-American who moved to the US when she was 10 and is a senior engineering student. "Since two lives were lost, I think concerns will remain for quite a while."
Hours after the shooting, daisies, gladiolas and lilies sat next to a small table on the walkway of the home to which Qu ran for help. On the table was a remembrance book with a sign that read: "We will give this book to the parents of Wu Ying and Qu Ming. Write here in English or Chinese if you would like to share your thoughts with them."
Gloria Tigolo lives on the tree-lined street of two-story homes and apartment buildings and said she heard a gunshot. She said she went downstairs but didn't go outside because it was raining. Investigators said earlier that several shots were fired.
Four people have been killed this year in the area, police said, but violent crime is down 20 percent this year. Neighborhood watch signs are posted along the street and police were trying to determine if there were any surveillance cameras in the area.
The gunman fled on foot, and no description has yet been released by authorities.
Jessie Cai, 21, an undergraduate student in electrical engineering from China who lives in the West Adams neighborhood, said she was thinking of moving out of the area. "I do worry because we get a lot of crime alerts but we never actually catch the criminals," she said.
She hadn't yet told her parents about the shooting, but was sure "they will be freaking out."
USC is in an urban center within a mile of gang-infested neighborhoods that have been plagued by high crime.
Clay Dube, executive director of the USC-China Institute, spoke to the parents of Wu Ying and Qu Ming on behalf of the university, and said that they were shocked and devastated by the phone call.
"The families have invested so much in these children, so much love, so much hope, and the children know that. They know the expectation is they will come here and succeed," Dube said at Wednesday night's vigil.
Wu and Qu, both 23, who police say were believed to have been dating, were killed when a gunman opened fire on them while they were sitting in a BMW outside Wu's apartment early on Wednesday, just after midnight. Police said it may have been a robbery or carjacking attempt.
The driver, Qu, was able to make it from the car, through the rain, to a house where he pounded on the door pleading for help.
Both were dead by the time they were taken to hospital.
Both victims were studying electrical engineering. Wu hailed from Hunan Province in central China, and Qu from the northeastern Jilin Province.
Candles in the shape of a heart and white roses and lilies sat at the foot of the Tommy Trojan statue, the university's collegiate symbol, where grieving students and staff gathered for the vigil.
The slayings shook the campus, which has a large international student population, and laid bare a parent's worst nightmare: having their child harmed in a faraway place.
The international student presence at USC is enormous - it has the largest number of any university in the US. Roughly 19 percent of its 38,000 students are from overseas, 2,500 from China.
Some students said the shooting could be a cautionary tale for others who want to study overseas.
Several shots were fired
"If parents hear about this in China, it might affect their decision," said Chrissy Yao, a Chinese-American who moved to the US when she was 10 and is a senior engineering student. "Since two lives were lost, I think concerns will remain for quite a while."
Hours after the shooting, daisies, gladiolas and lilies sat next to a small table on the walkway of the home to which Qu ran for help. On the table was a remembrance book with a sign that read: "We will give this book to the parents of Wu Ying and Qu Ming. Write here in English or Chinese if you would like to share your thoughts with them."
Gloria Tigolo lives on the tree-lined street of two-story homes and apartment buildings and said she heard a gunshot. She said she went downstairs but didn't go outside because it was raining. Investigators said earlier that several shots were fired.
Four people have been killed this year in the area, police said, but violent crime is down 20 percent this year. Neighborhood watch signs are posted along the street and police were trying to determine if there were any surveillance cameras in the area.
The gunman fled on foot, and no description has yet been released by authorities.
Jessie Cai, 21, an undergraduate student in electrical engineering from China who lives in the West Adams neighborhood, said she was thinking of moving out of the area. "I do worry because we get a lot of crime alerts but we never actually catch the criminals," she said.
She hadn't yet told her parents about the shooting, but was sure "they will be freaking out."
USC is in an urban center within a mile of gang-infested neighborhoods that have been plagued by high crime.
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