Official: Arrest warrant in Yale killing

NEW HAVEN — Police have secured an arrest warrant charging Qinxuan Pan, an MIT graduate student with murder in the shooting death of Kevin Jiang earlier this month.

Matthew Duffy, a U.S. Marshal, confirmed the service is attempting to take Pan into custody on that warrant. The 29-year-old is still believed to be in Georgia, according to Duffy.

New Haven police had named Pan as a person of interest in the fatal Feb. 6 shooting, saying that he was “in the area” on the night Jiang was killed.

New Haven police have not confirmed the warrant’s existence. A police spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday night.

Police were called to Lawrence Street near the Nash Street intersection around 8:30 p.m. that evening. There they found Jiang, a 26year-old Yale graduate student, gunned down.

The marshal’s office is offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to Pan’s apprehension by law enforcement. The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force has also been asked to assist in finding him.

The television station Fox 61 reported the warrant’s existence earlier in the evening, citing unnamed police sources.

Authorities believe Pan stole an SUV from a dealership in Mansfield, Mass., swapping out the dealer plates before coming to Connecticut. Pan is wanted by Massachusets authorities for charges related to that theft. New Haven police also have a warrant out for his arrest in the stolen vehicle matter.

Ziang was engaged to be married to his fiancee, Zion Perry. Photos have emerged online that appear to show Perry and Pan together at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology dance in March of last year. New Haven police said they have not ruled out the possibility of a prior relationship between the two.