The death of the two Chinese students has triggered heated debate online about 'privilege' because the victims were shot in a luxury car.
Many mainland media outlets emphasised the fact that Wu Ying and her friend Qu Ming, both 23, were shot in a BMW, a symbol of wealth for the mainland's average wage earners.
While many Chinese students abroad expressed sympathy, internet users on the mainland were cold towards their death and labelled the pair as the 'rich second generation'.
One report headlined 'Two Chinese Students Shot Dead in BMW in Los Angeles' on qq.com, a major portal website, had late yesterday received more than 5,000 comments, many of them critical.
'Studying in the US. BMW. A man and a woman. Children of ordinary families will not encounter such a 'good thing'!' one comment read. Another read: 'As the Chinese proverb goes, extreme job begets sorrow. Those rich and powerful people today have too much pride, and they deserve no sympathy even if they're dead.'
But some asked what was wrong with pursuing a better life by studying abroad. The debate has also prompted clarification from people who claimed to be friends of the victims.
One post under the account of Deng Kaifu, who identified himself as a friend of the victims, at social networking website renren.com, said the BMW was a US$10,000 second-hand car produced in 2003.