3 Young Muslims Shot to Death at UNC in Apparent Hate Crime

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(Newser) Deah Barakat, a second-year dental student at UNC-Chapel Hill, had scheduled a trip to Turkey this summer to provide dental care to Syrian refugees there. Those dreams were cut short yesterday when the 23-year-old, his 21-year-old wife, and her 19-year-old sister were shot dead in an apartment complex near the college, NBC News reports.

Three young Muslims were allegedly shot to death near the University of North Carolina by 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks (right). (World Network TV)

Craig Stephen Hicks, the suspected 46-year-old gunman, is being held in Durham County Jail on three charges of first-degree murder, police say. The Charlotte Observer reports that all three victims were Muslim, while the Independent notes a Facebook page in Hicks’ name that shows him to be an apparent supporter for “Atheists for Equality” and a frequent poster of images that mock religion.

Police received a report of gunfire shortly after 5pm yesterday in the Chapel Hill neighborhood of Finley Forest. Cops found all three victims dead at the scene. Although a motive hasn’t been provided, speculation is rife that it could have been a hate crime: “Three Muslims murdered tonight in Chapel Hill, NC by a man because they were Muslim. What a sad night in America,” one person tweeted.

Barakat’s wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, was scheduled to start dental studies at UNC in the fall; the two worked together to lobby for global public health, and had just married on Dec. 27 (wedding photo here). Sister-in-law Razan was studying architecture at North Carolina State University. An “Our Three Winners” Facebook page dedicated to the family is up, with a poignant “About” section that says, “Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha have returned to their Lord. They have set an example in life and in death.”

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