RALEIGH: Three American students have been shot to death at a residential complex of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a suspect has been arrested over the incident, according to local police, Aljazeera English reported.
Chapel Hill police told local news outlets that Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and charged with killing the three Muslim students.
Mainstream media is not reporting it. Let’s ask about this. Let’s talk about it. Don’t let them sweep it under the rug. #MuslimLivesMatter
— Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) February 11, 2015
He is being held at the Durham County Jail, and is expected to make a first court appearance Wednesday morning. In a statement posted online, Chapel Hill police said that “preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbour dispute over parking.”
“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,” the statement said quoting Police Chief Chris Blue.
Hicks turned himself in after the shooting on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, just outside the campus of the University of North Carolina.
Police officers responded to a report of shooting at around 5:15pm on Tuesday, and found three people who were pronounced dead at the scene.
The police website released a statement confirming the three deaths and saying the 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 victims were identified as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his 21-year-old wife, Yusor Mohammad, and her sister, 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, police said.
“I’m kind of in shock. I’m really confused and I have been since 5:30,” said Kristen Boling, who lived in the complex where the shooting occurred.
The university said that Barakat was a second-year student at its dentistry school, his wife was planning on starting there in the fall, while her sister was a student at North Carolina State University.
The incident sparked widespread outrage on social media network Twitter, and the hashtag #ChapelHillShooting was trending across the US and around the world, news on yahoo reported.
POWER of #socialmedia ~ if it wasn’t for Twitter, we would never have heard of the #ChapelHillShooting Muslim murders pic.twitter.com/v2CZokGmab
— Kevin Maxwell (@kevin_maxwell) February 11, 2015
Several users circulated images of the smiling victims using the hashtag, while others called for more extensive media coverage. Others speculated the murders were a “hate crime”. A separate hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter began trending on Wednesday.
A Facebook page called ‘Our Three Winners’ has been set up in memory of the victims.
“It sorrows us all to see what has happened here today. 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,” a post read.
Barakat and Mohammad have been described as “well-liked” and active members of the community, involved in several volunteer charity events.
Donations started pouring into a crowdfunding campaign established by Barakat to support Syrians living in a Turkish refugee camp. By Wednesday morning, it had already surpassed its fundraising goal of $20,000.
A tweet by Barakat posted in January was also widely shared. “It’s so freaking sad to hear people saying we should ‘kill Jews’ or ‘kill Palestinians’. As if that’s going to solve anything,” it read.
Dear TNT Reader,
At The News Tribe, our mission is to bring you free, independent, and unbiased news and content that keeps you informed and empowered. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism, as we understand that we are a platform for truth.
Apart from independent global news coverage, we also commit our unique focus on the Muslim world. In an age marked by the troubling rise of Islamophobia and widespread misrepresentation of Muslims in Western media, we strive to provide accurate and fair coverage.
But to continue doing so, we need your support. Even a small donation of 1$ can make a big difference. Your contribution will help us maintain the quality of our news and counteract the negative narratives that are so prevalent.
Please consider donating today to ensure we can keep delivering the news that matters. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world, and work towards a more inclusive, informed global society.
Donate Monthly Subscription Annual Subscription
