Yale graduate student from Chicago killed in New Haven shooting

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Police are investigating road rage as a possible motive in the murder of a graduate student from Chicago who was fatally shot in New Haven, Connecticut, over the weekend.

Yale University officials said Kevin Jiang, a second year master's student at the Yale School of the Environment, was shot and killed in the city's East Rock neighborhood Saturday night. Police are investigating the shooting as a homicide, school officials said.

New Haven police said Jiang was found shot multiple times on the ground next to his car, which had rear-end damage. Investigators believe it's a clue that may help solve this case. Witnesses told police they saw a shiny new black vehicle flee the scene.

"And in terms of the proximity, we can tell that we feel that it was possible that he was actually a target," New Haven Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said.

Jiang spent two years in environmental consulting helping food and steel manufacturers comply with local and federal environment regulations before coming to Yale, school officials said. He was researching how to track mercury levels of fish in the Quinnipiac River Watershed.

"The Yale community is grieving right now," Yale University President Peter Salovey said. "This is the loss of an extraordinary young man. He was committed to applying his talents to improving the world."

Jiang was also a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the Army National Guard. The Connecticut National Guard wrote: "2nd Lt. Jiang believed in service to his community and recently volunteered to support COVID19 relief efforts."

He had been expected to complete his master's degree this fall. Friends say he recently proposed to his girlfriend, who told the Yale Daily News that Kevin was a "gift from God."