3 UNC students shot to death in Chapel Hill, man charged
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Police have arrested a 46-year-old man in the shooting deaths of three Muslim college students in Chapel Hill Tuesday evening.
Craig Stephen Hicks was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after he surrendered to authorities.
Officers were first alerted at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday to a call of shots fired in the 200 block of Summerwalk Circle in the Finley Forest Condominiums. The complex is home to many UNC graduate students.
When they arrived, they found three people dead. They have been identified as:
-Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill,
-Yusor Mohammad Barakat, 21, of Chapel Hill
-Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh
Motive?
Police have not given a possible motive behind the shootings, but family members said the couple had problems with Hicks in the past.
On his Facebook page, Hicks describes himself as an "anti-theist" and posted statements condemning all religions. In one post, he asks "why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others' influence when they agree about so many ideological issues."
The statements prompted the Council on American Islamic Relations Wednesday to call on law enforcement to address a "possible bias motive" for the shootings.
"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," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Victims remembered
Deah was enrolled at the UNC School of dentistry. His wife was completing her biology degree at NC State and planned to begin her dental studies at UNC this fall. They were recently married in December.
Razan was Yusor's sister. She attended NC State and was studying architecture and environmental design according to her Facebook page. She was visiting her sister at the time of the shooting. The women were both graduates of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh.
Friends and family said Deah and Yusor had raised thousands of dollars to travel to Turkey to provide dental care to Syrian refuges.
In a fundraising video, Deah asks people to contribute to a trip for 10 dentists.
"These kids don't have access to the same health care as us," he says. "Their prolonged pain can easily be taken care of by what we do."
Click for the YouTube fundraising video
A Facebook page set up to remember the victims said funeral arrangements were pending. Called "Our Three Winners", it urges people to remember the "beautiful ways these three people have touched your lives."
"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," it said.
Hicks was being held in the Durham County jail without bond. He was scheduled for a first court appearance Wednesday morning.
UNC officials said they are cooperating with the Chapel Hill Police Department in its investigation.
