Dewitt police found on Sept. 30 the dead body of a young Chinese man behind the Springfield Garden Apartments, near Lemoyne College in Dewitt, New York, in response to a 911 call from residents.
Authorities identified the man as Yuan Xiaopeng, a 23-year-old mathematics student of Syracuse University. He is an apparent victim of homicide. Detectives assigned to the case are searching for a possible motive amid reports of residents of the apartment complex who called 911 that they heard gunshots, reported Daily Orange, a student website.
He was enrolled at the College of Arts and Sciences, a junior student. While Yuan’s Facebook page said he is from Qingdao, Shandong Province, the university and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said he came from Beijing. His black Chevrolet Camaro was found near Yuan’s body. A comparison of a Facebook photo apparently confirms he owns the car where he is seen inside the vehicle with a custom license place “SWAG PIP,” reported China Daily.
Yuan also has a Weibo account where he posted the day he was discovered dead a group photo with his basketball team. Following the discovery of his corpse, people started to post RIP and a candlelit emoji on his social media accounts.
So far, the police have not identified any suspect and have no updates yet on the case, according to the student website.