NEW HAVEN, Conn — Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang was shot and killed in New Haven on February 6. He was 26-years-old.
As a result of his death, Police have started a homicide investigation and a multi-state manhunt for a person of interest for 29-year-old MIT graduate Qinxuan Pan
Jiang served in the US Army National Guard, distributed food to and cooked for a homeless shelter, and even mentored youth. He was enrolled at the Yale School of Environment and was part of the class of 2022. A week before his death, Jiang proposed to his girlfriend Zion Perry. His 27th birthday was this month.
People are also checking in on Jiang's beloved mother. He had been the sole provider for the two.
"He loved his mom so much that I think his mom was the most important person to him in his world because she raised him by herself," said Denethi Wijegunawardana.
“He gave me a lot of joy, a very warm boy, always took care of me and I miss him,” Linda Liu, Kevin’s mother said.
Watch the funeral below
Friends of Kevin have started a GoFundMe for his mother Zhen Liu. The funds are to help pay for funeral costs and keep her afloat financially. The fundraiser has raised over $50,000.
“Everyone that met him thought he was so -they’d call him Jiggy Jiang- because he was so energetic all the time,” Jiang’s friend said.
The funeral service for Jiang will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Baptist Church on State St. in New Haven.
This is the fifth murder of a Yale student since 1974. The last having occurred in 2009, when Annie Le, a 24-year-old Yale School of Medicine doctoral student was killed. Raymond Clark III later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 44 years in prison.
Le and Clark, both 24 at the time, worked in the Yale Animal Research Center. She performed medical experiments and he was an animal technician. Her body was discovered behind a wall in that building.
Kevin Jiang
Watch the funeral below
