Three young Muslims killed in North Carolina family home

[BLACKEAGLE]

The victims were identified as Chapel Hill residents Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh. (Twitter)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 11 February 2015

U.S. police have arrested a gunman following the killing of three young Muslims in the town of Chapel Hill in North Carolina, the Associated Press reported citing local media on Wednesday.

Police have named the victims as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

According to the reports by the Chapel Hill News and the Observer newspaper, the suspected shooter – identified as 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks – had turned himself in.


The suspected shooter – identified as 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks. (Chapel Hill Police)

He was being held in Durham County Jail on three counts of first-degree murder, but the motive of the shooting remains unclear. The victims were found shot dead at the scene, while some residents described not even being aware there was an incident until police arrived.

The Chapel Hill police website released a statement confirming the three deaths and saying Chapel Hill Police Officers responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill. When officers arrived, they located three subjects who had been shot.”

“The Chapel Hill Police Department is questioning a person of interest in the crime and has reason to believe that there is no ongoing threat to the public,” the statement added.




Deah and his wife Yusor. Deah was a dental student and worked for a charity giving dental care to Palestinian children and refugees. (Twitter)

The news prompted an outpouring of grief on social media. Pictures of the victims studying and playing basketball have been posted. One image shows the three victims recently pictured together at the graduation of Deah’s sister-in-law, Razan, who ran a blog showing her interest in photography and art.

According to The Independent, Razan had started a degree at North Carolina State University last summer, studying Architecture and Environmental Design, and her Twitter biography read: “I like buildings and other stuff.”


Razan Abu-Salha, pictured in a post by Deah Barakat describing her as 'the best third wheel ever'. (Facebook)

Some social media voices compared the incident to the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, and others called on U.S. President Barack Obama, other world leaders and religious figures to condemn the attacks.

In memory of the three victims, a community Facebook page has been set up “Our Three Winners.”

One statement from the page read: “Please rely on each other and remember these beautiful souls in your happy thoughts. Their faith meant a lot to them, and it is in fact what helps us all feel at peace with the tragedy of their murder.”

On Twitter, the hashtag [HASHTAG]#MuslimLivesMatter[/HASHTAG] trended as those suspecting the murders were a hate crime reacted.

Last Update: Wednesday, 11 February 2015 KSA 15:55 - GMT 12:55

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/02/11/Three-killed-in-U-S-shooting-.html

 

[tournique]

This is why racial profiling becomes an issue in todays society. All this racial stigmatization will eventually hurt the people that are plain innocent.

 

[jeremy2]

I don't know what motive the killer had but taking away innocent lives will never be the solution to our problems. Yes,there is a lot of tension particularly between Muslims and Christians all over the world in light of recent terrorism activities but violence is not the way. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the affected families and i hope that God may grant them peace.

 

[vegito12]

This will create more distrust maybe the guy thought killing was the answer, it did not accomplish anything apart form broken families and sadness and mourning fore people close to these ones who lost their life which is sad. I read a article on the daily mail uk that the had a obsession with the scarf one women wore and a parking dispute he had with the people and was in rage when he did this. This mas was also a threat to all in his street, and would get angry over noise and show his gun around to threaten people and argued a lot imagine living in the same house as him and hearing him get angry.

 

[xTinx]

I can only condemn who ever was or were responsible for the deaths of those three promising Muslims. They were only living their lives without bothering anyone else but narrow-minded and prejudiced people who don't know how to channel their hate have to meddle into their affairs. I hope those heartless, evil people will get their just desserts. On one hand, you can really pinpoint a great chunk of the blame on terrorists. They're giving Muslims a bad name.

 

[wahmed]

These poor people were not only living their lives but also helping others better their health and life. These dispicable acts if hate is why our society is so intolerant