Hundreds of students and parents gathered Wednesday night at the Shrine Auditorium to mourn two USC graduate students who were shot and killed last week in the West Adams area.
Annual scholarships were established in honor of the students, USC President C.L. Max Nikias announced at the memorial service.
"To honor your memory in perpetuity, the University of Southern California will establish the Ming Qu and Ying Wu Scholarship Fund," Nikias said.
The memorial came exactly one week after the students were killed.
"In the Chinese tradition, this is the seventh day of the perish, which means their souls will be returning home today and that’s very crucial," said Owen Chang with USC Global China Connection.
The service for Ying Wu and Ming Qu, both 23, started around 6 p.m. They were killed April 11 in the 2700 block of Raymond Avenue near West 27th Street.
The victims' parents travelled from China to attend, and other USC parents joined in support of the grieving family.
"I felt it was important for parents to stand together and show our love for parents who are going through this tragedy," said Noel Irwin Hentschel, parent.
Several speakers took the stage, often speaking in Chinese. The victim's friend Zhang Dan translated their sentiments.
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"They tried to recall those happy days they spent together and tried to recall how brave, how nice they were, and their dreams in America," Dan said.
Wu was found in the front passenger seat of Qu's recently purchased 2003 BMW. Qu was found on the steps of a nearby house, police said.
Police have made no arrests, but USC officials and the city have offered rewards for information totaling $200,000.
The parents of the electrical engineering students arrived in Los Angeles from China over the weekend.
The investigation has yielded few significant leads. One person reported hearing several gunshots. Another witness saw a person in dark clothes running from the site of the shooting. Surveillance video showed a dark sedan leaving the area.
Anyone with information about the case can call 213-485-4341.
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