SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A business professor at Arizona State University is accused of fatally shooting his wife at their private residence while the couple’s two teenage children were home, according to law enforcement authorities.
David Zhu, a professor at ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, reportedly blasted his wife, Susan Yijuan Yan, with a shotgun at the family home in Scottsdale about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Scottsdale Police Department said.
Yan, 46, was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound, police said.
“This was an isolated incident that occurred inside the residence. No one else was injured from the shooting,” police said.
According to court documents obtained by Fox 10 Phoenix, Zhu told police he “was trying to shoot the wall behind,” his wife.
The couple’s 19-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son were inside the home at the time of the homicide. They told police their parents had been involved in “frequent” domestic violence incidents, and the shooting came at the end of an explosive shouting match, court documents revealed.
“Neither child expressed any surprise that David had shot and killed their mother,” police noted in reports.
Zhu was taken into custody and faces the charge of first degree murder. Following his arrest, he was booked at the Maricopa County Jail where bond was set at $1 million, Fox 10 reported.
NEW: Scottsdale PD confirms David Zhu is the suspect who shot and killed his wife last night. Zhu has been booked on one count of homicide. He is listed on ASU’s website as Dean’s council & in the Dept. Of Management and Entrepreneurship. We have reached out to ASU for comment. pic.twitter.com/vDjBmEoYND
— Justin Lum | 林俊豪 (@jlumfox10) August 19, 2024
Zhu has been a professor at ASU since 2009. As of Monday, the educator remained employed while being placed on administrative leave.
An ASU spokesperson told the New York Post that Zhu is prohibited from being on campus and from all school activities “while the university proceeds with the personnel process, according to applicable Arizona Board of Regents and local policies.”
“Our condolences go out to all those affected by this tragedy,” the spokesperson said in the statement.
