The man arrested on suspicion of killing three young Muslims in North Carolina described himself as an “anti-theist” and criticised all religions online.

Police said 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks handed himself in to officers in Chapel Hill overnight in the wake of the deaths of 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

He has been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder. As tributes poured in for the young family, a Facebook page in Hicks’ name showed that he read paralegal studies at Durham Technical Community College and described himself as a supporter of “Atheists for Equality”.

A regular social media user, his last three posts were a cute dog video about the Pavlov effect, a viral advert for Air New Zealand involving mountain bikes, and a picture from United Atheists of America asking “why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues”.

TV programmes liked by Hicks include The Atheist Experience, Criminal Minds and Friends, while he describes himself as a fan of Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason and Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion.

This picture shows Hicks on holiday with his wife in Disneyland

Hicks read paralegal studies at Durham county's Technical Community College

Hicks’ pictures largely consist of images with text mocking religion and supporting atheism, but include images of himself and his wife at Disneyland, what he describes as his “loaded 38 revovler”, and himself separately on a quad bike and wearing a suit.

The shooting of the three Muslims has been widely condemned across social media, including by Richard Dawkins himself, who tweeted: “How could any decent person NOT condemn the vile murder of three young US Muslims in Chapel Hill?”

In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting Deah Barakat (centre) In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting Deah Barakat posted this image to Facebook writing: 'Tonight we provided free dental supplies and food to over 75 homeless people in downtown Durham' In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting A 46-year-old man, named by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder Chapel Hill Police In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting Deah Barakat, pictured here with his wife Yusor, was a keen basketball player In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting The victims of the shooting, from left to right: Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting Deah Barakat was a dental student at UNC who worked for a charity giving dental care to Palestinian children and refugees In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting Deah Barakat and his wife Yusor at an American football match In pictures: the Chapel Hill shooting Chapel Hill shooting One of the victims, Razan Abu-Salha, pictured in a post by Deah Barakat describing her as 'the best third wheel ever'