Sister of victim describes it as ‘execution-style murder’ and other family claim anti-Muslim motiviations but police say it may stem from parking dispute

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The older sister of one of three North Carolina students killed in an attack on Tuesday has called for the authorities to investigate the shooting “as a hate crime”.

In an emotional press conference, Suzanne Barakat described the killing of her brother as an “execution-style murder”.

Barakat’s comments come as the father of the two women killed in the same attack has said he also believes the killings were a hate crime, perpetrated against his daughters and son-in-law because they were Muslim.

Three Muslim students dead in North Carolina shooting as suspect arrested Read more

Chapel Hill police said a preliminary investigation revealed that an ongoing dispute between neighbors over a parking space may have led Craig Stephen Hicks to shoot his neighbors Deah Barakat, 23; Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

However, the women’s father, Mohammad Abu-Salha, disagrees.

“This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime,” Abu-Salha told the Raleigh News & Observer.

Abu-Salha, a psychiatrist in Clayton, said his daughter had recently told her parents that they had a “hateful neighbor”.

“This man had picked on my daughter and her husband a couple of times before, and he talked with them with his gun in his belt,” Abu-Salha said. “And they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far.”

Hicks was arraigned on Wednesday morning on three charges of murder and is being held in jail without bond. The 46-year-old said on Facebook that he was an atheist and expressed anti-religious views, though it’s not clear if he was referring to a particular religion or all religions.

“Six weeks ago, I wept tears of joy at my brother’s wedding,” Barakat said on Wednesday. “Today I cry tears of immeasurable pain.” Outside the community center where Barakat spoke, a flag was flying at half-mast.

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who flew down from Washington DC to attend, told the Guardian that his organization was joining the Barakats in calling for authorities to treat the attack as a hate crime.

Karen Hicks, the wife of the accused, told the Associated Press that her husband’s actions were reportedly motivated by the parking dispute and not by religion or the victims’ faith. An attorney for Karen said her husband had a concealed weapons permit, according to the AP.

Shooting spawns #MuslimLivesMatter

The triple homicide occurred on Tuesday evening at a condominium near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Barakat was a dental student.

Chapel Hill police were called to the home on Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill shortly after 5pm on Tuesday. A woman who was walking through the apartment complex called 911 and reported that she heard several gunshots ring out, followed by screaming. Police released the incident report and recordings of two 911 calls.

“I heard about eight shots go off in an apartment. I don’t know the number. About three girls, more than one girl, screaming, and then there was nothing,” an unidentified caller told the dispatcher in one of the calls.

The victims were shot with a handgun and all three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the incident reports.

Parents of the victims arrived at the Finley Finest Condominiums, desperately pleading for information about the shooting, according to the university paper, the Daily Tarheel. A mother broke down in tears after inquiring about her daughter and son-in-law. Twenty minutes later a father screamed: “It’s been hours! Just tell me if he’s alive!”

Hours into the investigation, police moved the family to the complex’s clubhouse.

Overnight news of the three deaths gave life to the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter, a social media rallying cry reminiscent of the #BlackLivesMatter movement following multiple killings across the US in the last six months. A flurry of tweets criticized the media for not covering the shooting.

On Wednesday, police said a preliminary investigation indicated that the killings may have stemmed from a dispute over parking. During an afternoon press conference, officials urged the community to allow the investigation to develop before jumping to conclusions.

“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 at a press conference. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly.”

US district attorney Ripley Rand said the killings are “not part of a targeted campaign against muslims in North Carolina”.

“This appears at this point to have been an isolated incident,” he added.

Rand said federal investigators have not taken over the case at this point, but said his office will closely monitor the investigation as it moves forward.

‘Our Three Winners’

A vigil for the three victims is planned for Wednesday evening.

Barakat was a second-year dental student at the University of North Carolina, where his wife was planning to begin her dental studies in the fall. Her sister was a student at North Carolina State University.

Barakat and Yusor married on 27 December. The newlyweds attended North Carolina State University as undergraduates.

Yusor’s Facebook profile shows her dancing at her wedding with her father. Barakat’s profile shows him playing with a basketball in his wedding suit. Friends repeatedly noted the victim’s commitment to service and their passion for helping those in need.

Barakat, whose family is Syrian, was raising money to provide dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey, where he was due to go this summer. The site raised several thousand dollars in donations on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, Barakat’s brother, Farris, wrote of his shock and devastation at hearing the news.

“I haven’t even begun to fully comprehend what has happened. But I know for sure those three together have done so much we are all proud of,” Farris wrote.

Farris created the Facebook page “Our Three Winners” to commemorate the three victims and provide updates from the family. There, friends are sharing photos, videos and thoughts of the newlyweds and Razan.

“I know my brother, his wife, and his sister-in-law are together as ultimate winners,” Farris wrote. “This life was only ever a test and they have passed with flying colors. They have won, and for that I rejoice.”