Person of interest in shooting death of Yale graduate student spotted in Georgia
Qinxuan Pan (New Haven Police Department)
ATLANTA - Qinxuan Pan, a 29-year-old Massachusetts resident, who has been named as a person of interest in connection with the Feb. 6 shooting death of a graduate student at Yale University was spotted in metro Atlanta on Thursday and U.S. Marshals said he should be considered "armed and dangerous."
Pan may be staying with friends in the Duluth or Brookhaven area, federal authorities said Thursday. He was last seen earlier that morning driving with family members, carrying a black backpack, and acting strange.
Pan is described by authorities as being 6-feet tall, weighing 170 pounds, with a medium complexion, and short black hair.
Federal authorities said Pan is wanted on one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and interstate theft of a vehicle.
Those charges stem from the shooting death of Kevin Jiang around 8:33 p.m. on Feb. 6. Prior to the shooting, Jiang had been involved in a car wreck, police in North Haven, Connecticut said, and they were investigating the possibility that it was intentional.
Police said earlier this week that Jiang, 26, may have been "targeted" in what appeared to be a road rage incident. During a news conference Wednesday, they said they were exploring whether Jiang and Pan had any prior history.
Pan is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Mass., police said. Jiang’s fiancée had reportedly also gone to school there.
Zion Perry, the fiancée, told Fox News on Tuesday that Jiang was a member of the Army National Guardsman, held deep Christian faith and was a frequent volunteer at Trinity Baptist Church in New Haven. As a graduate student, he was researching mercury levels in fish in the Quinnipiac River watershed.
Pan should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, federal officials said.
U.S. Marshals are offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the direct arrest of Pan. Anyone with information should call 1-877-Wanted-2 (1-877-926-8332).
FOX News contributed to this report
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