Mourners place flowers at the site where Chinese student Jiang Yue was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident on Jan 16 in Temple, Arizona. A memorial was held Monday afternoon at the location where more than 200 people, including the victim's fellow students, members of the Chinese community and local residents, gathered to mourn her death. [Photo courtesy of Kristine Liu / chinadaily.com.cn]

Grief along with calls for self-defense were expressed on Monday at a memorial service for 19-year-old Jiang Yue, a Chinese exchange student who was shot and killed in a road confrontation in Arizona over the weekend.

More than 200 people, including Jiang's fellow students, members of the Chinese community and local residents, gathered at the scene of the Jan 16 incident in Tempe.

Jiang, a native of Chongqing, was a sophomore finance major at the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in Tempe.

She was returning from a shopping trip with a friend when, after a minor traffic accident, she was subsequently shot by another driver.

The suspect, Holly Davis, 32, of Mesa, Arizona, has been arrested on four charges, including first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person.

Davis' Volkswagen Passat rear-ended Jiang's vehicle at a red light in an intersection, and she allegedly got out of her car and fired several shots into the other vehicle, hitting Jiang several times, Tempe police said. ABC15 reported that Davis walked to the driver side of Jiang's vehicle and shot through the window.

Jiang's 21-year-old male passenger got out of the Mercedes to assess the damage when he saw Davis with the gun, ABC15 reported.

Police says Jiang lost control of her vehicle after she was shot as she drove away, crashing into another car carrying a family of five. The family did not suffer serious injuries.

The suspect was identified after witnesses got her license plate number.

When officers interviewed Davis' boyfriend, he told them he and Davis had been drunk earlier in the day. Officers said in their arrest forms that Davis said she used Oxycodone, tucsonnewsnow.com reported.

At Monday's service, mourners in black stood in silence around candles, flowers and hand-drawn pictures, with words in Chinese and English like "Rest in peace" and "Wish you a safe journey", placed on the ground on a sidewalk on Broadway Road near McClintock Drive.

"She (the victim) was a nice and pretty girl. She also did well in school," said a classmate of Jiang's, who requested anonymity. "We were simply shocked at the terrible tragedy. She only started her new semester less than a week ago. We hope the suspect will be punished by law."

The Chinese Students' Union at Arizona State has been in contact with Jiang's parents, who were on their way to Arizona, said the unnamed student, who organized an online group to provide assistance to Jiang's parents.

Mourners place flowers at the site where Chinese student Jiang Yue was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident on Jan 16 in Temple, Arizona. A memorial was held Monday afternoon at the location where more than 200 people, including the victim's fellow students, members of the Chinese community and local residents, gathered to mourn her death. [Photo courtesy of Kristine Liu/chinadaily.com.cn]

David, an ASU teacher who gave only his first name, went with his wife and two children to the memorial service after learning of the tragedy from his students. "We all feel very sad hearing the news. I hope her family will arrive here safely, and we are ready to help them," he told China Daily in Chinese.

Mark Searle, executive vice-president of ASU, called the incident "a senseless act of violence".

"The incident has prompted many students to consider buying guns," said a Chinese student at ASU, who lives near where the crime took place. "A student in my class has six guns. I myself consider buying one, too."

In response to Chinese students' reaction, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association of ASU prepared fliers with safety tips on driving and using guns.

"It is an unusual incident, so don't buy a gun out of panic. The aim of owning a gun is to protect yourself, but it may also pose dangers before you know how to use it," the association advised students considering buying guns, in a statement posted online.

The incident has been trending on Sina Weibo under the hashtag "Chinese student got shot in the US," getting more than 12 million views and 8,500 comments after it was posted on Monday, China News Service reported online.

Some on Weibo referred to a crime in April 2014, when Qu Ming and Wu Ying, both 23 and Chinese engineering graduate students at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, were shot to death ambush-style in the city during a robbery.

Suspect of the Arizona road rage shooting Holly Davis [Photo/weibo.com]

By LIA ZHU in San Francisco