A Chapel Hill man has been charged with shooting and killing three people near the campus of the University of North Carolina on Tuesday night.

This rare spasm of violence for the region sparked alarm and drew international attention due to the fact that all three victims were Muslim, though police said that initial indications suggested the shooting stemmed from an altercation involving parking.

The three victims were identified by police and school officials in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They were all young adults with ties to universities in the region. Deah Barakat, 23, was a second-year student at the University of North Carolina’s School of Dentistry; his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, was set to enroll there in the fall. The third victim was her 19-year-old sister, Razan, a student at nearby North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

“This is a tremendous loss to the Carolina and N.C. State campuses, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families, fellow students, faculty and friends of these three very promising students,” Carol L. Folt, chancellor of UNC, wrote in a message to students Wednesday.

Police said that they had arrested Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, and charged him with the shootings. Hicks turned himself in “without incident” to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office in nearby Pittsboro after the shooting, Chatham County Sgt. Kevin Carey said Wednesday.

The shooting deaths of three Muslims prompted concerns that the violence was motivated by their religion, and leading Muslim civil rights advocates called for police to address that possible explanation. But the Chapel Hill Police Department said Wednesday that it appeared, at least initially, that the shooting centered on a parking argument.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” the department said in a statement. “Hicks is cooperating with investigators and more information may be released at a later time.”

The father of the two women killed disputed the idea that it was simply an argument involving parking, saying Wednesday that one of his daughters had previously told her family about Hicks having a problem with the way she looked.
The Council on American Islamic Relations called for police to address the speculation about Hicks’s motive, pointing in part to the religious attire of the Mohammad sisters and noting that in photographs circulating online, both were wearing Islamic headscarves.

“Based on the brutal nature of this crime, the past anti-religion statements of the alleged perpetrator, the religious attire of two of the victims, and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in American society, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case,” Nihad Awad, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.

Details also began to emerge about the three victims, painting a picture of young lives abruptly cut short. Mohammad and Barakat were married in late December, a little more than six weeks ago, she had posted on Facebook. On Monday, she changed her profile picture to show her dancing with her father at the wedding.



A vigil for the three victims was planned for Wednesday evening.

In a Facebook post, Barakat’s brother Farris Barakat mourned the three deaths.

“I haven’t even begun to fully comprehend what has happened. But I know for sure those three together have done so much we are all proud of. No reason to stop being proud now,” he wrote. “God is great. God is greater.”

He added: “We live as Muslims to die as Muslims. May Allah enter them to the highest of paradise.”



Farris Barakat also created a Facebook group, “Our Three Winners,” where he posted images of the three victims and announcements about funeral arrangements.

Attention also turned to the social media profile of Hicks, the alleged shooter, to see what clues could be gleaned from his online presence. He had frequently shared links about atheism on what appeared to be his Facebook page. One such post reads: “People say nothing can solve the Middle East problem, not mediation, not arms, not financial aid. I say there is something. Atheism.”

Another post shared three weeks before the shooting depicted a loaded revolver, tucked in its holster, alongside five extra rounds.

Sullivan reported from Chapel Hill, N.C. Berman and Kaplan reported from Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/11/three-killed-in-shooting-near-university-of-north-carolina/?tid=pm_national_pop

SO sad. when the killer is a muslim then he is a terrorist, but when the killed is a muslim, then the killer has other motives. Such hypocrisy.

rabimlomo:
SO sad. when the killer is a muslim then he is a terrorist, but when the killed is a muslim, then the killer has other motives. Such hypocrisy.

GBAM

And if it was a muslim that killed 3 americans, it would have been in fp.

rabimlomo:
SO sad. when the killer is a muslim then he is a terrorist, but when the killed is a muslim, then the killer has other motives. Such hypocrisy.

. Dude,Did the shooter chant any slang while shooting them?NO..This is simply a case of somebody being temperental and killing people for a small case of a parking space..Peopel kill for even lesser reasons than that though..But when Muslims terrorists kill and chat Allahu Akbar at the same time,That is Islamic Terrorism.. But when another muslim man kills with no religious motive behind it,that is simply killing and nothing else..This is a case of killing the other person..it has nothing to do with Religion

We want justice. Bloated frog

alobam1:
. Dude,Did the shooter chant any slang while shooting them?NO..This is simply a case of somebody being temperental and killing people for a small case of a parking space..Peopel kill for even lesser reasons than that though..But when Muslims terrorists kill and chat Allahu Akbar at the same time,That is Islamic Terrorism.. But when another muslim man kills with no religious motive behind it,that is simply killing and nothing else..This is a case of killing the other person..it has nothing to do with Religion

Oh! How do we know if he shouted any slang at all. The media makes us believe whatever they want us to believe. Remember the news was not carried by the tv stations until it became trending on twitter.

And what temperament would make him go into their house and kill the three of them. Was he having dispute with all three of them?? And I am sure you have read so many people on the internet shouting death to the muslims, some calling for their countries to simply drop an atomic bomb on the muslims --- wonder how they will be able to achieve that anyway.

You claim it is not hate crime but do you know that intimidation of muslims has actually increased after this incidence with so many atheist claiming it is a free season on the muslims. So many muslims have being killed or injured just because they are muslims but you won't read about them in the media.

The media are quick to call it something else when the victim is a muslim. Even the norway killer who obviously was a christian terrorist was given excuse of being mad.

dcaliph:
And if it was a muslim that killed 3 americans, it would have been in fp.

Exactly, even the American press only reluctantly reported this after it became trending on twitter. And they were quick in looking for a motive for the killer. It is so appaling.