Skip to content
Casepin

Killing of Zijie Yan (2023)

ONGOINGCaudill Labs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill0:42

Zijie Yan, an associate physics professor at UNC Chapel Hill and a father of two, was shot and killed on campus on 28 August 2023 by one of his graduate students. The student was charged with first-degree murder and, after a period found unfit for trial, was ruled competent in 2026; prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Open the case file YouTube

Narrated from the published, cited case file. The sources are on the case page. How we make these videos.

Transcript

What the video says

On an ordinary Monday afternoon, physics professor Zijie Yan was shot and killed inside his own campus lab, by one of his graduate students. Yan, a father of two young daughters, ran a nanoparticle research group at UNC Chapel Hill. The student was charged with first-degree murder, then found unfit for trial with untreated schizophrenia. In March 2026 he was ruled competent to stand trial, and his defense signaled a possible insanity plea. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. The full case file is on casepin dot org.

Transcript from the video’s narration track. For every source, open the case file.

Up next

Watch next

All videos

Watch next