ASU professor accused of shooting and killing his wife, Scottsdale Police say

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A man who is identified as an ASU professor shot and killed his wife in Scottsdale on Saturday night, the police department said.

The shooting happened on Aug. 17 near 130th Street and Shea Boulevard around 6:30 p.m.

“Police responded to a home with reports of a shooting that had just occurred. Upon arrival, a female was found with a gunshot wound. She was transported to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries,” Scottsdale Police said.

The suspect, David Zhu, was arrested and is accused of first-degree murder. The wife is Susan Yijuan Yan, 46.

The department says this was an isolated incident and there’s no threat to the community.

Shooting stemmed from alleged domestic violence incidents
According to court documents, the couple’s 19-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son were inside the home at the time of the shooting.

Investigators say the victim had been shot with a shotgun and Zhu allegedly said at the scene that he “was trying to shoot the wall behind her.”

A shotgun and shotgun shells were found inside the home. Zhu’s children allegedly told police their parents had been involved in “frequent” domestic violence incidents, and they were involved in a “screaming fight” at the time of the shooting.

“Neither child expressed any surprise that David had shot and killed their mother,” court documents read.

Zhu was booked into jail on a $1 million cash bond.

Suspect identified as ASU professor

Zhu is listed as a professor in ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business Department of Management and Entrepreneurship on ASU’s website.

The university gave a brief statement on Aug. 18 saying “Our condolences go out to all those affected by this tragedy.”

The university confirmed he is still employed. He’s been with the university since 2009.

On Aug. 19, it released a more detailed statement saying, “Zhu is being placed on administrative leave and barred from coming to campus or participating in any ASU activities, while the university proceeds with the personnel process, according to applicable Arizona Board of Regents and local policies.”

“My jaw literally dropped,” a student said on Aug. 19 after learning of the news.

“That’s … that’s shocking,” another student said.

Business students can hardly believe what the professor is accused of.

“I would have never expected that. That’s kind of scary,” a student said.

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Scottsdale man held in wife’s fatal shooting is ASU business school prof

The man arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in Scottsdale on Saturday is a longtime professor at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, the university confirmed in an email to The Arizona Republic.

The suspect is 47-year-old David Zhu. Scottsdale police said he reportedly shot his wife at a home near North 128th Way on Saturday evening, prompting a response from the department around 6:30 p.m., when responding officers found a woman with a gunshot wound. They took her to a hospital where she died.

An ASU spokesperson verified that Zhu is a professor at the university on Monday morning. His ASU staff profile says he is a “Professor & Dean’s Council Distinguished Scholar” in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.

The university did not immediately provide any further detail about Zhu’s tenure as a professor at ASU or if he had been fired. McDowell Mountain Justice Court records show he has been employed by ASU for 10 years.

“Our condolences go out to all those affected by this tragedy,” a university spokesperson wrote to The Republic.

The Scottsdale Police Department has not said what may have prompted the shooting. Court records show that Zhu’s two teenage children told officers he and his wife were in a “screaming fight” before they heard two shots ring out.

Those records also show Zhu had a yearslong history of domestic violence, which included threats of murder or suicide and an increase in the frequency or intensity of incidents.

Investigators reported in the records that “neither child expressed any surprise that David has shot and killed their mother.”

After the shooting, one of Zhu’s children ran out of the house and had a neighbor call 911. The court record indicates Zhu himself also called 911 and said the shooting was “accidental,” something he maintained later on by telling police “I was trying to shoot the wall behind her.”

Police found two spent shotgun shells at the scene and multiple other firearms in the house. Investigators determined his wife was shot twice in the back with a shotgun after her body was examined at the hospital.

Zhu was arrested and booked Sunday into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of one count of homicide, according to online jail records.

“While this is still an ongoing investigation, there is no threat to the surrounding community, as this is an isolated incident,” said Sgt. Allison Sempsis, a Scottsdale Police Department spokesperson.

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上周六，在亚利桑那州凤凰城郊区的Scottsdale豪宅区内，一名华人教授在家中枪杀了自己的妻子…

据警方通报，这起悲剧发生在周六傍晚6时30分左右。当警方接报赶到现场时，发现一名女性已身中枪伤，虽紧急送医但终因伤势过重不幸离世。而嫌犯朱洪泉随即被捕，并被控以一级谋杀罪。

朱洪泉（David Zhu，英文名），作为亚利桑那州立大学管理与创业系的教授，他不仅在国内拥有律师执照，还曾在中国多所高校交流访问，是众人眼中的成功人士

尽管官方尚未公布死者身份，但有网友爆料称夫妻两人均为大学同学，且女方同样为华人，来自江西。

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他老婆是个精算师，这个家庭经济上应该很好了

大学商学院正教授加精算师，在经济上真的算人生赢家了，完全退休生活可以享受人生的那种啊。

应该46岁是准确的。我看了他们的LinkedIn，我猜他们都是95年读的南开，99年本科毕业，男的继续读硕士，国内硕士一般2年半，2002年初硕士毕业，然后应该结婚了，2004年一起来的美国，男的在um读博士，女的感觉是陪读，大概2005年生了第一个小孩，女的在2006年开始读了一个统计的硕士，然后在当地找了一个工作。男的2009年博士毕业，在asu找到了教职，举家搬到az。女的也换工作到az，然后生了第二个小孩。在接下来的10多年里，男的一步步升到了正教授，女的在bcbs做精算师，也升了职。大概就这样。所以两个人从大学谈起，也差不多有25–29年了吧。

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亚利桑那州立大学确认David Zhu是该校凯瑞商学院管理与创业系教授。

ASU发表简短声明称：”Our condolences go out to all those affected by this tragedy.”（“我们向所有受这场悲剧影响的人们表示哀悼。”）

根据ASU官网，David（HongQuan）Zhu，本科和硕士毕业于中国南开大学，密歇根大学博士。2009年至今在ASU商学院任职，现任WP Carey中国DBA项目主任。在商学院网站上，朱教授2024年秋季和2025年春季都排了7门课。

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ASU华人教授杀妻，事发前激烈争吵！一双儿女当时都在家

周六晚，ASU商学院教授David Zhu在家中与妻子激烈争吵后，开枪将其杀害。

事发时，他们的两个孩子都在家。

他已在亚利桑那州立大学工作了10年，是商学院管理与创业系的“教授兼院长委员会杰出学者”。

据警方透露，Zhu此前有家庭暴力史。

这对夫妇19岁和14岁的孩子均与侦探合作提供证词，讲述多年来父母之间经常发生家庭暴力。

儿子和女儿在谋杀案发生时都听到了尖叫和打斗声，以及从家中传来的两声枪响。

枪击事件发生后，Zhu的一个孩子跑出了家门，让邻居拨打了 911。

法庭记录显示，Zhu本人也拨打了 911，并表示枪击是“意外”，他后来告诉警方，当时试图射击妻子身后的墙壁。

调查人员在记录中报告称，“两个孩子都没有对大卫枪杀他们的母亲表示出任何惊讶。”

目前，他被控一级谋杀罪，保释金为100万美元。