Mourners place flowers at the site where Chinese student Jiang Yue was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident on Jan 16 in Temple, Arizona. A memorial was held Monday afternoon at the location where more than 200 people, including the victim's fellow students, members of the Chinese community and local residents, gathered to mourn her death. [Photo courtesy of Kristine Liu / chinadaily.com.cn]

 

Grief along with calls for self-defense were expressed on Monday at a memorial service for 19-year-old Jiang Yue, a Chinese exchange student who was shot and killed in a road confrontation in Arizona over the weekend.

More than 200 people, including Jiang's fellow students, members of the Chinese community and local residents, gathered at the scene of the Jan 16 incident in Tempe.

Jiang, a native of Chongqing, was a sophomore finance major at the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in Tempe.

She was returning from a shopping trip with a friend when, after a minor traffic accident, she was subsequently shot by another driver.

The suspect, Holly Davis, 32, of Mesa, Arizona, has been arrested on four charges, including first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person.

Davis' Volkswagen Passat rear-ended Jiang's vehicle at a red light in an intersection, and she allegedly got out of her car and fired several shots into the other vehicle, hitting Jiang several times, Tempe police said. ABC15 reported that Davis walked to the driver side of Jiang's vehicle and shot through the window.

Jiang's 21-year-old male passenger got out of the Mercedes to assess the damage when he saw Davis with the gun, ABC15 reported.

Police says Jiang lost control of her vehicle after she was shot as she drove away, crashing into another car carrying a family of five. The family did not suffer serious injuries.

The suspect was identified after witnesses got her license plate number.

When officers interviewed Davis' boyfriend, he told them he and Davis had been drunk earlier in the day. Officers said in their arrest forms that Davis said she used Oxycodone, tucsonnewsnow.com reported.

At Monday's service, mourners in black stood in silence around candles, flowers and hand-drawn pictures, with words in Chinese and English like "Rest in peace" and "Wish you a safe journey", placed on the ground on a sidewalk on Broadway Road near McClintock Drive.

"She (the victim) was a nice and pretty girl. She also did well in school," said a classmate of Jiang's, who requested anonymity. "We were simply shocked at the terrible tragedy. She only started her new semester less than a week ago. We hope the suspect will be punished by law."

The Chinese Students' Union at Arizona State has been in contact with Jiang's parents, who were on their way to Arizona, said the unnamed student, who organized an online group to provide assistance to Jiang's parents.