Xinran Ji, a 24-year-old Chinese graduate student at the University of South California, was found dead in his off-campus apartment.
According to Reuters, Ji had been assaulted late at night on his way home. Ji, an electrical engineering student who enrolled at the university in the fall of 2013, was found dead at around 7 a.m. Thursday morning.
Ji was attacked by at least three men, and later died at his apartment, reported the Los Angeles Times. His apartment was located a few blocks from the campus.
Details of the attack were not given out. However, police said Ji succumbed to his injuries after making it back to his apartment. Elizabeth Garret, university provost, issued a statement saying that Ji appeared to have died from a head injury.
“It's shocking, but at the same time you're almost desensitized because you're like, 'Are you kidding me? It happened again?” said senior undergraduate student Joe Benson.
Ji’s murder highlighted the violence around the campus. Two years ago, two other Chinese graduate students were shot and killed near the campus. Six months after their murder, a gunman opened fire in a crowd near the center of the campus outside a Halloween party.
Security measures were put in place to by school officials, such as limiting public access to the campus in the evening. Fencing went up around the school's perimeter and those coming on the campus after 9 p.m. now have their identification cards checked.
The university notified Ji’s family in China of his death and made arrangements for them to be flown to Los Angeles.