$75,000 offered over Chinese students' slaying

The city of Los Angeles is offering 75,000 U.S. dollars in reward for information over the killing of two Chinese graduate students, local media reported Tuesday.

The reward was announced at 10 a.m. by Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, according to local television channel KTLA.

The motion was put forward by Parks and approved in City Council. "It was a unanimous approval decision by the 14 present council members," Brittney Marin, a staff member at the councilman's office, told Xinhua.

Earlier, the University of Southern California (USC) announced last Friday a 125,000-dollar reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

The relatives of 23-year-old graduate students Ming Qu and Ying Wu, who studied electrical engineering at USC, visited the 2700 block of Raymond Avenue in the West Adams area on Sunday. They also talked with the school, police and Chinese officials about the memorial services and possible fundraising efforts.

A memorial service is planned at Shrine Auditorium near the school Wednesday evening, according to sources from USC's Chinese community.

Patrick Gannon, deputy chief of Los Angeles Police Department, said the victims were shot two to three times as they were sitting in a 2003 BMW around 1 a.m. last Wednesday.

Qu managed to get out of the car and tried to stagger to a nearby house before collapsing on the front porch. The shooter fled southbound after the shooting, and a black car was also seen leaving the area.

Minutes later, paramedics sent the victims to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Gannon said.

Police have checked surveillance video from the area in search of the car that left the crime scene shortly after the shooting. Detectives have come up with a list of 75 vehicles that match the vehicle's description, according to Gannon.