Thousands join vigil to mourn Jilin baby killed in car theft

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Local residents gather to mourn a baby who was strangled to death by a car thief in Changchun on March 5, 2013. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00am, 6 Mar 2013Updated: 8:59am, 28 May 2013

Thousands of Jilin residents braved the freezing cold to attend a candlelight vigil in China’s northeastern city of Changchun on Tuesday evening to mourn the death of a two-month-old baby who had been stolen along with an SUV and was killed by the thief.

The killing has left millions of Chinese heart-broken and infuriated. Many of them had been praying for the safe return of the baby.

“I cried when I heard about the killing on the radio,” a taxi driver surnamed Wang told Chinese media. Wang was one of the volunteers who joined a citywide manhunt for the stolen SUV and baby after they were reported missing this week. The culprit, Zhou Xijun, turned himself in to police on Tuesday and confessed to choking the baby to death after discovering the boy in the vehicle he stole.

Li Yu, a senior student at Changchun University, said he had brought toys to the vigil. During the search, Li and his classmates pitched in by posting announcements on social media sites to help track down the thief, an effort joined by millions of netizens from all over the country.

On Tuesday night, photos posted on Sina Weibo, China’s popular Twitter-like service, show people lighting candles in a snow-covered plaza, bringing flowers and mourning in groups. Lights were dimmed at 10.10pm as locals observed a moment of silence, said Chinese media.