Summary The parents of the shooting victim, Deah Shaddy Barakat, were among the crowd
(Web Desk) -- Thousands of people from all walks of life attended the vigil to pay tribute to three young Muslims that were shot dead in cold blood in an episode of hate crime and Islamophobia.
The crowd, a sizeable body of which was drawn from the student community at Chapel Hill came out with candles and heavy hearts to condole with the parents in the courtyard of the North Carolina State University.
The parents of the shooting victim, Deah Shaddy Barakat were among the faces that were seen shedding tears in the huge crowd that turned out for the vigil.
People took out their frustrations openly in social media and twitterati took to tweeting their opinion immediately:
This needs to trend big. What a loss. #ChapelHillShooting #justice
— Maria Salgado (@MariaS_227) February 11, 2015
RIP Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu-Salha. Murdered in North Carolina earlier today. #ChapelHillShooting pic.twitter.com/rsoVFWdDO1
— Saba (@smalfuhaid) February 11, 2015
The police have named the victms of the violent homicide as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his spouse, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, aged 21 and her sibling Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, aged 19.
Yesterday at 5:11 in the evening, sounds of gunshot were heard from the apartment. The apartment block is known to house academics and young professionals.
When the police arrived, the victims were found to be murdered cold on the scene.
Police had arrested a man named Craig Stephen Hicks on account of first degree murder of the three victims yesterday. According to latest reports, the police have suggested that the homicide was “motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking”, but have not ruled out a case of hate crime.
The women’s father disputed the claim by saying that the murder was prompted by religious differences and that "this was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime ".
He further added that "they were uncomfortable with him, but they did not know he would go this far ".
The world at large has condemned the incident and people have posted pictures of the couple playing sports and attending the sister’s graduation ceremony couple of months ago.
According to the North Carolina State University officials, the couple got married 2 months ago and the husband, Mr Barakat was a dental student at the university. His wife, according to the officials, also intended to start dental studies this autumn.
Mr Barakat volunteered for medical camps in his spare time with a charity that provided emergency dental care to children in Palestine.
The suspect, Craig Stephen Hicks has turned himself in and now faces murder charges without bail pending further trial.
Hicks had a history of posting anti-religious and hate speech on his facebook page. He had proclaimed to be an atheist and his loathing for all religions has been pointed in social media.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has urged the government officials to look for a possible motive with regard to anti-Muslim and hate crime.
The national director of the organization, Nihad Awad has released a statement in which she has asked the concerned authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case.”
