USC launches major security upgrades after grad student killed

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Supporters of slain USC student Xinran Ji, in photo, gather for a press conference after the arraignment of Jonathan Del Carmen, Andrew Garcia, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Supporters of slain USC student Xinran Ji, in photos, gather for a press conference after the arraignment of Jonathan Del Carmen, Andrew Garcia, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero in downtown Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Family attorney Rose Tsai, right, and many other supporters showed up to show their support for victim Xinran Ji outside court. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Students bring white flowers to the memorial service to honor Xinran Ji. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Xinran Ji in a photo displayed at the memorial service for the slain USC graduate student. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Jinhui Du, center, mother of USC Chinese graduate student Xinran Ji, 24, is escorted by family members into Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Songbo Ji, left, and Jinhui Du, fourth from left, parents of USC graduate student Xinran Ji, 24, break down during a press conference outside of the Universal Chung Wah Funeral Home in Alhambra. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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Relatives of Andrew Garcia talk with the media after he, Jonathan Del Carmen, Alberto Ochoa and Alejandra Guerrero appeared in court, accused of killing USC grad student Xinran Ji. Left to right are Garcia’s father Cresencio Garcia Jr., sister Rosemary Garcia, mother Rosalie Garcia and brother Chris Garcia. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD Cmdr. Andy Smith announces the arrests in connection with the killing of USC student Xinran Ji at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Comstat room. (Jabin Botsford / Los Angeles Times)

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USC students walk by blood on the sidewalk on Orchard Avenue between 29th and 30th streets near USC after an attack that killed a graduate student. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC Public Safety vehicle sits in front of the apartment building where USC engineering graduate student Xinran Ji was found dead. He was the victim of a brutal assault, police said. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD detectives do a follow-up investigation in front of the apartment building where University of Southern California engineering graduate student Xinran Ji was found dead. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman says the fatal attack on a USC graduate student may have been a crime of opportunity, but it’s unclear whether the victim was robbed. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The scene outside an apartment near USC where a graduate student was found dead inside. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC student was found dead in an apartment near campus. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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LAPD officers investigate around the apartment building where a USC Chinese graduate student was found dead. He was the victim of an assault a few blocks from campus, the university said Thursday. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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A USC graduate student from China was found dead at an apartment in the University Park area north of campus. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Los Angeles Times staff

Aug. 8, 2014 10:25 AM PT

USC on Friday announced a series of significant new security measures after a graduate student from China was fatally beaten near the campus last month.

The university said in a statement Friday it was increasing security staffing in and around the campus, upgrading camera systems and enhancing public safety training for students.

The move comes after engineering student Xinran Ji was assaulted with a baseball bat at 12:45 a.m. on July 24 near the corner of 29th Street and Orchard Avenue, a few blocks from campus.

Four were charged with murder in the case.

“Safety is a shared responsibility – it includes both practices and methods adopted by the university and precautions that our students, faculty and staff need to take with an awareness of their surroundings,” Elizabeth Garrett, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement announcing the changes.

USC said its “safety ambassadors” will now work year-round, including the summer. Security cameras will be placed in locations off-campus, and more USC security and Los Angeles Police Department foot patrols will be deployed.

USC has poured considerable resources into improving campus safety after a string of shootings put current and prospective students on edge.

In April 2012, two 23-year-old Chinese graduate students in the electrical engineering program, Ying Wu and Ming Qu, were shot to death about 1 a.m. while sitting in a parked BMW just west of campus.

The students’ parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university, saying the school misled them when it said it ranked among the safest in the nation.

Six months after Wu and Qu were slain, a gunman opened fire in a crowd outside a Halloween party near the center of USC. Four people were wounded, and the campus was placed on lockdown.

After the incidents, school officials put multiple new security measures in place. The university limited public access to the campus in the evening, the Department of Public Safety installed additional security cameras and license plate readers, and dorms introduced fingerprint scanners for entry.

About 1,500 feet of fencing also went up along the school’s 2-mile perimeter, and security guards began checking identification cards of everyone coming inside after 9 p.m.

As a result, university officials reported a drop in property crimes in 2013 compared with the previous year.

However, most of the measures were aimed at securing the environment on campus. Last month’s assault once again exposed the limits of the university’s efforts outside school grounds.

USC launches major security upgrades after grad student killed

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