LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Two USC students were murdered Wednesday morning in what may have been an attempted carjacking in front of a home in the West Adams area.

Officials say the victims, Ying Wu and Ming Qu, were sitting in a BMW in the 2700 block of Raymond Avenue with hazard lights on when they were approached by an armed man at 1 a.m., according to KNX 1070′s John Brooks.

Qu was shot twice in the head.

“He exited the car and went up onto one of the porches of a nearby house, asking for help, and our officers arrived and found him there,” Commander Andy Smith said.

Wu was also shot.

Both victims, who have been identified as graduate students from China, were declared dead at California Hospital.

Police hope to examine nearby surveillance video to identify the suspect.

While officials say it was too dark to get a good description of the shooter, there were several witnesses who said the shooter drove away in a dark-colored vehicle. However, police have not confirmed if the gunman fled on foot or by car.

Crime has dropped in the LAPD’s Southwest Division, which includes the USC campus. Only four murders have been reported since the beginning of the year.