Two USC International Students Shot Near Campus

Annenberg Radio News reporters Devin Altschul, Kunal Bambawale, Sean Patrick Lewis, Heather Ritche and Conrad Wilton were at the scene of the shooting Wednesday morning. Listen to their live reports:

ARN Reporting 4/11/2012 by Annenberg Radio News

Two students from China studying at USC were fatally shot at 1 am Wednesday morning in the West Adams district near the campus, police said. The victims were identified by university officials as Ying Wu and Ming Qu; both were studying electrical engineering at the graduate level and in their early 20s. Sgt. Carlton Brown of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Station said they were shot multiple times while sitting in a double-parked BMW on Raymond Avenue, near the intersection of Normandie Avenue and Adams Boulevard.

LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith suggested one possible motive police are investigating is whether the homicides were the result of a bungled carjacking. Smith said one assailant was seen leaving the area on foot.

Reports from the scene stated that both the driver and front passenger’s side windows were blown out. Wu was found slumped over in the front passenger seat, while Qu was found on the steps of a nearby house, which suggests he was looking for help before collapsing.

In a letter to the university community, the administration offered condolences and psychiatric support for students affected by the deaths, but also reiterated the efforts it has made in past years to increase security in surrounding neighborhoods: “This incident occurred outside the neighborhood areas where over the past several years we have steadily increased our security presence, adding dozens of security and license plate recognition cameras, uniformed officers, and yellow-jacketed security ambassadors.” On Wednesday night, hundreds gathered on the campus for a candlelight vigil in memory of Qu and Wu.