Killing of Yale student Kevin Jiang: person of interest Qinxuan Pan stole car on day of crime, police say
- Authorities are still hunting for the ‘dangerous’ MIT graduate, who took a vehicle from a showroom for a test drive and never returned it
- Jiang, who had just got engaged, was shot multiple times and found lying outside his car
A person of interest in the slaying of Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang this month stole a car on the day of the killing before driving to Connecticut, according to a police report.
The report filed by police in Mansfield, Massachusetts, alleged Qinxuan Pan took a blue GMC Terrain for a test drive from a showroom on February 6 and never returned it. Pan also allegedly put a commercial Connecticut licence plate on the vehicle to conceal its identity, the New Haven Register reported.
The 29-year-old Pan has not been identified as a suspect but is considered a person of interest in the killing of 26-year-old Jiang, who was shot multiple times and found lying outside his car on a New Haven street.
Police have said they believe Pan was in the area at the time of the shooting, the newspaper reported.
Jiang, a Seattle native, had recently got engaged to be married.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at the University of Washington and was an Army veteran and Army National Guard member, according to his LinkedIn page and Yale officials.
In the Army, he was a tank operator and a chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear officer, according to Yale.
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Police have said Pan, an MIT graduate, was seen in the Atlanta area several days after Jiang’s killing and should be considered dangerous. The US Marshals Service has offered a reward for information leading to his location.
According to the Mansfield police report, Pan left the showroom with the car at around 11am.
When a salesman called him at 5.30pm to ask when he would be returning, Pan allegedly asked for more time, saying he had a family emergency. He then stopped responding to texts and phone calls.
Pan faces an arrest warrant for larceny.
A telephone number for Pan’s home in Malden, Massachusetts, had been disconnected as of Friday, the newspaper reported.
