Photo: CFP

The murder of a graduate student by a "stranger" who reportedly had escaped punishment after attacking another student on campus previously has thrown the university in Northwest China's Gansu Province into a wave of controversy on social media.

The university, Lanzhou Jiaotong University located in Northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday made its first official response to the case, which occurred on August 18, saying that the suspected murderer has been detained and further investigation is underway.

The 26-year-old victim, a third-year graduate student majoring in civil engineering, surnamed Yang, was killed by the suspect, surnamed Zhang, with a knife on the night of August 18. Zhang was detained by the police later that day, said the university.

According to Jimu News, Yang was attacked by Zhang in a dorm building when he was about to go back to his dorm. Zhang stabbed Yang with a knife on his neck.

Yang's cousin told the media that Yang "had no contact or intersection" with Zhang before the incident. The 31-year-old Zhang was reportedly the son of the owner of a snack store in the university and several students from the university said he attacked another student in the same way in May but only got a warning from the police without punishment, according to Jimu News.  

The case started to draw public attention after pictures circulated online that show Yang's parents sitting in front of the school's gate with a quilt and umbrella, appealing for a proper response from the school on the case. 

Netizens who are angry with the death of the victim and sympathize with Yang's parents questioned why the university shut the parents out for days after the incident and did not make a public response on the case, which had already caused huge controversy among students at school. 

Topics related to the case have triggered more than 100 million views on China's social platform Sina Weibo as of press time. 

Yang's parents told the media on Thursday that the school had paid the family 2 million yuan ($31,000) in compensation on Wednesday and they would stop their requests to the school. 

However, questions still linger after the school's Thursday announcement of the detainment of the suspected murderer. 

"What took it so long for the school to make a two-week delayed announcement after the detainment of the suspect?" asked one netizen. 

"How much responsibility should the school bear for allowing a man who attacked a student to stay on campus until he killed another?" asked another Weibo user. 

Photo: CFP

The murder of a graduate student by a "stranger" who reportedly had escaped punishment after attacking another student on campus previously has thrown a university in Northwest China's Gansu Province into a wave of controversy on social media.

The university, Lanzhou Jiaotong University located in Northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday made its first official response to the case, which occurred on August 18, saying that the suspected murderer has been detained and further investigation is underway.

The 26-year-old victim, a third-year graduate student majoring in civil engineering, surnamed Yang, was killed by the suspect, surnamed Zhang, with a knife on the night of August 18. Zhang was detained by the police later that day, said the university.

According to Jimu News, Yang was attacked by Zhang in a dorm building when he was about to go back to his dorm. Zhang stabbed Yang with a knife on his neck.

Yang's cousin told the media that Yang "had no contact or intersection" with Zhang before the incident. The 31-year-old Zhang was reportedly the son of the owner of a snack store in the university and several students from the university said he attacked another student in the same way in May but only got a warning from the police without punishment, according to Jimu News.  

The case started to draw public attention after pictures circulated online that show Yang's parents sitting in front of the school's gate with a quilt and umbrella, appealing for a proper response from the school on the case. 

Netizens who are angry with the death of the victim and sympathize with Yang's parents questioned why the university shut the parents out for days after the incident and did not make a public response on the case, which had already caused huge controversy among students at school. 

Topics related to the case have triggered more than 100 million views on China's social platform Sina Weibo as of press time. 

Yang's parents told the media on Thursday that the school had paid the family 2 million yuan ($31,000) in compensation on Wednesday and they would stop their requests to the school. 

However, questions still linger after the school's Thursday announcement of the detainment of the suspected murderer. 

"What took it so long for the school to make a two-week delayed announcement after the detainment of the suspect?" asked one netizen. 

"How much responsibility should the school bear for allowing a man who attacked a student to stay on campus until he killed another?" asked another Weibo user. 

Photo: CFP

The murder of a graduate student by a "stranger" who reportedly had escaped punishment after attacking another student on campus previously has thrown a university in Northwest China's Gansu Province into a wave of controversy on social media.

The university, Lanzhou Jiaotong University located in Northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday made its first official response to the case, which occurred on August 18, saying that the suspected murderer has been detained and further investigation is underway.

The 26-year-old victim, a third-year graduate student majoring in civil engineering, surnamed Yang, was killed by the suspect, surnamed Zhang, with a knife on the night of August 18. Zhang was detained by the police later that day, said the university.

According to Jimu News, Yang was attacked by Zhang in a dorm building when he was about to go back to his dorm. Zhang stabbed Yang with a knife on his neck.

Yang's cousin told the media that Yang "had no contact or intersection" with Zhang before the incident. The 31-year-old Zhang was reportedly the son of the owner of a snack store in the university and several students from the university said he attacked another student in the same way in May but only got a warning from the police without punishment, according to Jimu News.  

The case started to draw public attention after pictures circulated online that show Yang's parents sitting in front of the school's gate with a quilt and umbrella, appealing for a proper response from the school on the case. 

Netizens who are angry with the death of the victim and sympathize with Yang's parents questioned why the university shut the parents out for days after the incident and did not make a public response on the case, which had already caused huge controversy among students at school. 

Topics related to the case have triggered more than 100 million views on China's social platform Sina Weibo as of press time. 

Yang's parents told the media on Thursday that the school had paid the family 2 million yuan ($31,000) in compensation on Wednesday and they would stop their requests to the school. 

However, questions still linger after the school's Thursday announcement of the detainment of the suspected murderer. 

"What took it so long for the school to make a two-week delayed announcement after the detainment of the suspect?" asked one netizen. 

"How much responsibility should the school bear for allowing a man who attacked a student to stay on campus until he killed another?" asked another Weibo user.