A 22-year-old man convicted in the ambush murder of two Chinese students in Los Angeles was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Monday.

Family members of the victims, along with Chinese students and members of the local Chinese community were present for the sentencing of Javier Bolden in Superior Court. Bolden was convicted last month in the shooting deaths of Qu Ming and Wu Ying in April 2012.

Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus issued the sentence three weeks after a jury of seven women and five men found Bolden guilty on two counts of first-degree murder as well as two other charges, including attempted murder and assault with a firearm for a separate shooting of two people at a party in February 2012.

Wu and Qu, both 23-year-old graduate students studying electrical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, were shot to death while sitting in Qu's parked BMW in the early hours of April 11, 2012, less than a mile from USC's campus.

Bolden looked unfazed as the judge read his sentence. He shook his head and looked back at his family in the courtroom.

The judge described Bolden's actions as "shameful" and said they had "stained the reputation of Los Angeles".

Qu Zhiwan, father of Qu Ming, made an emotional statement before the sentencing.

"What is justice?" he asked. "I hope the Superior Court brings the real justice today. "

The father thanked the judge afterward, as well as those from the Chinese community who have supported him.

"I hope all the Chinese students who are studying at USC learned a lesson from my family's tragedy," he said. "Safety is the No 1 issue you need to learn when you come far away from your mom and dad. "

Qu also offered advice to parents considering sending their children to study in the United States. "Remember what is most important," he said. "It is probably the most important decision to you and your child."

Xu Yuan, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association at USC, told China Daily that the group will help Qu's and Wu's parents while they are in Los Angeles.

The victims' parents arrived in Los Angeles from China on Nov 13. Volunteers from USC helped with driving and translation.

"We want to offer as much help to them as we can," said a notice on social media calling for volunteers. "They indeed need our support. They are suffering the greatest loss of their children."

A representative of the consulate general of China in Los Angeles told China Daily: "We are deeply sad for these two Chinese young students' families for their loss. Reinforcing the safety of overseas Chinese students has been one of our main focuses."

Zhang Chi contributed to this article.

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