The victims were shot dead.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of three Muslim students in an apartment near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Craig Stephen Hicks killed Deah Barakat, his wife, Yusor, and her younger sister Razan Abu-Salha on Tuesday afternoon; police report the fatal attack was motivated by an ongoing dispute over parking. The victims, who were aged 23, 21, and 19 respectively, were all shot in the head.
Hicks turned himself in later that night and is being held without bond.
Bharakat was a second-year dental student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who had recently married his wife, Yusor Mohammad, in late December.
According to YouCaring.com, a free online fundraising website, Barakat was organizing efforts to raise money in order to provide dental care to students in Turkey. Barakat was scheduled to travel to Turkey this summer to provide aid for child refugees from the ongoing Syrian civil war.
Mohammad graduated from North Carolina State in December with a degree in biological sciences, where Barakat had previously earned a business administration degree in 2013. Mohammad was planning to begin studying dentistry at Chapel Hill this autumn.
Abu-Salha, Mohammad’s younger sister, was a sophomore at NC State who was majoring in design.
“Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr. Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act. We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case,” Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said in an official statement Wednesday. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly.”
U.S. Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) released his own statement Wednesday that expressed his condolences and alluded to the possibility of the crime being motivated by racial prejudice.
“This appalling act of violence has shaken our community’s sense of peace and reminded us once again that we still face serious barriers to mutual acceptance. We must redouble our efforts to bridge the gaps of intolerance and hatred that divide our society,” Price said.