It was a quiet evening in New Haven, Connecticut, on February 6, 2021, when tragedy struck. Lead detective David Zaweski and his colleague Steven Cunningham arrived at a crime scene that would unravel a complex tale of violence and obsession. Just moments earlier, Kevin Jiang, a 26-year-old graduate student at Yale, had been shot in what witnesses described as a horrifying incident. His lifeless body lay in the street, covered only by a white sheet, as the chilling reality of the night settled over the area.
- Kevin Jiang was a Yale graduate student.
- He was shot eight times in New Haven.
- Witnesses reported gunfire during a car stop.
- Qinxuan Pan was identified as a suspect.
- Pan orchestrated a plan to mislead police.
- He received a 35-year prison sentence.
Detective Zaweski described the initial scene vividly: “What we could see were gunshot wounds to his upper body and to his head. And you could see stippling on the left side of his head.” For the uninitiated, stippling is a burn pattern indicative of gunfire at close range—an unsettling detail that suggested Kevin’s death was not just random violence but perhaps something more personal.
As detectives dug deeper, they learned that Kevin had been shot eight times. Soon, investigators discovered his vehicle—a Prius—parked erratically in the middle of the street with its hazards flashing. There was little damage to the car, but the back bumper bore an unusual imprint suggestive of a license plate holder. This led authorities to suspect a hit-and-run might be linked to a larger crime.
Witnesses began to paint a picture of the harrowing moments leading up to the shooting. One individual heard a flurry of gunfire and saw a figure dressed in black standing over Kevin’s still body. “When she looks outside,” Zaweski recounted, “she sees a subject… standing over another individual… she hears another round of gunshots and she can see the muzzle flash from the gun as he’s firing.” This observation raised immediate red flags—the assailant was shooting a victim already down.
As hours surged into days, Kevin’s death revealed ties to several previous shootings in New Haven, all thought to be isolated incidents. But detectives soon identified a dark SUV and .45 caliber shell casings recovered at the scene of Kevin’s murder, leading them to suspect that Kevin’s death could be connected to these earlier acts of violence. Just before Kevin’s murder, someone had fired shots into family homes, raising fears that a serial shooter lurked in the area.
Enter Qinxuan Pan, a 29-year-old graduate student from MIT, who would soon become the primary suspect in Kevin’s murder. On the night of Kevin’s shooting, Pan was seen driving a dark SUV that would leave a lasting imprint not only on Kevin’s vehicle but also on the investigation itself. Shortly after the incident, law enforcement received a puzzling report from a scrap metal yard. A vehicle matching the description of Pan’s SUV had become stuck on railroad tracks, leading to an encounter with North Haven police.
After being checked and cleared by authorities that night, Pan made a series of questionable choices, including a phone call to his parents, which sent them scrambling to withdraw cash and assist him. However, what seemed like familial support hinted at something more sinister—a concerted effort to assist a son hiding from justice.
As the police uncovered more about Pan, they learned he shared a tenuous connection with Kevin’s fiancée, Zion Perry. While they were never close friends, the realization that they were both connected to Kevin added layers of complexity to the investigation. “There seemed to be a secret obsession of Pan’s going on behind the scenes that Kevin wasn’t aware of and that Zion wasn’t aware of,” Zaweski noted.
In the days following the murder, Pan’s activities raised suspicion. His parents, who portrayed themselves as shocked and unaware, were actually linked to several large cash withdrawals that suggested they might be aiding their son in escaping accountability. Investigative efforts revealed a network of deceit—Pan had contacted car dealerships under false pretenses, leading authorities to believe he was planning such a heinous crime from the outset.
The relentless pursuit of Pan culminated when U.S. Marshals apprehended him at a boarding house in Alabama, five weeks after Kevin’s death. He was found with substantial cash and multiple communication devices, suggesting a well-planned escape. Forensic evidence linked him directly to the crime, including DNA found on items discarded at an Arby’s near where he had stayed, as well as blood matching Kevin’s detected on his clothing.
Ultimately, Pan’s plea of guilty came as a major relief to both law enforcement and Kevin’s grieving family, who had been grappling with their sudden loss. In February 2024, Pan was sentenced to 35 years in prison without the possibility of parole, during which Kevin’s loved ones expressed their heartache and frustration over the leniency of the sentence. “Thirty-five years is too short and too light,” Kevin’s mother, Linda Liu, declared, her voice tinged with pain.
As this tragic tale continues to resonate, the underlying questions remain: Why was Kevin targeted? What drove Pan to such desperate lengths? While answers may never fully surface, the impact of this senseless crime lingers in the hearts of those left behind, forever altered by the violence of that cold February night.
