Slain Chinese student is remembered

300 turn out for service at Arizona State for Jiang Yue, shot dead in roadway incident

Chinese student Jiang Yue, who was shot to death in a road confrontation on Jan 16, was remembered by her family, friends, classmates and about 300 community members at a service on Jan 22 at a chapel on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe.

Jiang's father and friends told attendees about her life. Kevin Cook, dean of students at ASU, and William Zhu, president of Chinese Students' Association of ASU, also spoke at the service.

After the service, her body was scheduled to be cremated and the family plans to take her ashes back to China.

"We all feel deeply sad that such a nice girl, a straight-A student, should leave the world in such a tragic way," said Kevin, a Chinese student at ASU who brought flowers to the service on morning even though he didn't know her before she was killed.

"We hope the suspect will be brought to justice so the deceased can rest in peace," he told China Daily. "I really hope the public continues to pay attention to the case and support Jiang's family and fellow students, which may influence the sentencing."

"I hope we Chinese students can stick together and be strong. I think this is why we, who didn't know her before, are so concerned with the incident," he added.

Jiang, a 19-year-old sophomore and finance major at ASU, was shot dead by Holly Davis, 32, after Davis' car rear-ended Jiang's at a red light on Jan 16 in Tempe, Arizona, police said. Davis was later arrested on charges that included first-degree murder.

Jiang's boyfriend Chen Endong told China Press that he was sitting in the front passenger seat when the incident happened and he got out to check the minor damage after the collision.

When he saw Davis clutching a gun, he returned to the vehicle and told Jiang to flee. But Davis had already got out of her car with gun in hand, walked to the driver's door, and fired several rounds directly at Jiang, who died later at the hospital.

Tempe police said there was nothing to indicate the shooting was a bias crime, or the result of road rage. It appeared to be a random act. Police also confirmed with Jiang's family that she did nothing to provoke Davis.

The suspect's motivation has not been determined yet, but reports said she might have been under the influence of drugs and suffering from depression.

She was unemployed and had been separated from her husband and 4-year-old daughter. She served 237 days with the Missouri Department of Corrections from 2008 to 2010 for parole violations in connection with a 2002 incident in Pulaski County, according to the Arizona Republic.

Liu Chengyong in Tempe contributed to this story.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com