Three years ago, Chinese-American graduate student Kevin Jiang from Yale University was shot dead by Qinxuan Pan, a former graduate student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). On April 23, the perpetrator was sentenced to 35 years in prison at a high court in New Haven, Connecticut.
Qinxuan Pan pleaded guilty in February of this year. During the sentencing hearing this week, he apologized to the victim’s family and friends. “I apologize for the consequences of my actions and the impact on everyone. I fully accept my punishment,” said Qinxuan Pan.
On February 6, 2021, 26-year-old Yale University student Kevin Jiang was gunned down in New Haven. Pan was identified as the suspect by the police on February 10, 2021, but he remained at large. It wasn’t until May 13, 2021, that he was detained by U.S. marshals in Montgomery, Alabama.
A week before the incident, Kevin Jiang had proposed to his girlfriend, Zion Perry, a graduate student at Yale University.
MIT administrators confirmed that the perpetrator Qinxuan Pan and Perry had been studying at MIT at the same time. The two had been in touch through Facebook.
On January 30, 2021, Perry announced her engagement to Kevin Jiang on Facebook.
On the evening of February 6, Kevin Jiang was leaving Perry’s house when he was struck by Qinxuan Pan’s car while driving. After exiting his car, Kevin was shot by Pan.
Prosecutors stated that the dark blue SUV driven by Qinxuan Pan was stolen from a dealership in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors did not officially clarify Qinxuan Pan’s motive for the crime. However, Perry told the police that she and Pan had never been in a romantic relationship, just friends, but she did feel that Pan was interested in her.
After Qinxuan Pan was sentenced, the father of the victim, Kevin Jiang, expressed his fond memories of his son. “My son was an outstanding young man who cherished life, had a deep belief in God, and he should have had a bright future. He promised to spread God’s love widely,” said father Mingchen Jiang.