Painful news story focused on members of our community

February 10, 2021
L. Rafael Reif, President, 2012–2022 |

To the members of the MIT community,

Following a press conference this evening by the police department in New Haven, Connecticut, you are likely to see stories in the news about the recent violent death of Yale graduate student Kevin Jiang and the police search for MIT graduate student Qinxuan Pan ’14, MNG ’15, as a person of interest. MIT Police are in close contact with the New Haven Police Department and U.S. Marshals service and, based on information from these officials, have no reason to believe that our campus or Greater Boston communities are at risk.

For now, it is impossible to say more about this tragic situation. On behalf of the MIT community, I offer our deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones of everyone involved, including Mr. Jiang’s fiancée, a recent MIT graduate, and to the Yale community. We have reached out to a number of departments and groups at MIT to offer support.

For each of us, painful events like this can bring on a range of emotions. If you find that you would benefit from support in this moment, or you know someone who would, I urge you to reach out to our campus resources.

As this situation unfolds, let us support and take care of one another.

Sincerely,

L. Rafael Reif