In Wake of Shooting, USC Sudents Re-Evaluate Safety of South LA

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The shooting on Raymond Avenue left two USC graduate students dead and thousands of others grappling for answers.

Pei Shen is a graduate student from China studying communication. She says she does not feel completely safe living or even driving in South LA.

"I'm kind of scared. Because when I drive my car I think at least I'm safe in my car but now I think even though I'm in the car I'm not safe," Shen said.

Shen says her fears intensify when she ventures west of Vermont. "There's no lights, no people walking around. I'm really scared actually."

As more students move farther from campus and safety concerns grow, some USC students criticize Chinese media outlets for headlining the fact that the victims were driving a brand new BMW. They say that focusing on the BMW faults the victims for driving an
expensive car and making themselves targets. A USC graduate student and writer for the US-China Institute who asked to remain anonymous says the media should reveal all the
information they can to the public, including information describing the BMW.

"We understand that news media should, like, send out some information about this incident so they might talk about the brand of car exedra," she said.

The age of the BMW is also in dispute. Many news reports say the car was new but the LA Times quoted friends of the victims who say the BMW was a 2003 model. Katherine Jo is a first year graduate student. She says although the Chinese press is focusing on the BMW, she blames the American media.

"Because the newspapers in China, they recite the same resources from the U.S. newspapers. They don't know the truth," Jo said.

Although police have not identified a suspect for the crime, LAPD is looking through security camera footage for clues. Police have also installed a video kiosk on Raymond Avenue.

At USC, the Department of Public Safety is hosting an online forum where students and parents can ask officers questions about bolstering safety in the neighborhood.