Heartbroken Mother Speaks At Memorial For Murdered University Of Chicago Student Dennis Shaoxiong Zheng At Rockefeller Chapel
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The heartbroken mother of murdered University of Chicago graduate Dennis Shaoxiong Zheng spoke Thursday during her son's memorial service – in an emotional day on campus.
The memorial service for the recent statistics master's graduate and aspiring data scientist was held at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.
Zheng, 24, was shot and killed during a robbery in broad daylight on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 54th Place and Ellis Avenue – just half a block of north of where the U of C campus begins.
Alton Spann, 18, has been charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon. Police said that it was all over a cellphone that was later sold for $100.
Since Zheng's murder, Chicago Police and school leaders have tried to reassure students they will be safe.
Chicago Police and University of Chicago Police will be working more jointly moving forward. A safety plan discussed Wednesday night entails live cameras from a new operations center soon set to open, and keeping campus police and students in the loop about crime in the area – as students have been demanding.