Three Muslim Students Shot Dead at University of North Carolina

Three Muslim students were discovered fatally shot at residences at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Tuesday afternoon, according to the Chapel Hill Police Department.

The three students have been identified as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat; his wife, 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad and her sister, 19-year-old Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, according to the Chapel Hill Police Department. Police responded to reports of gunshots at 5.15 p.m. on Tuesday and the victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers have so far declined to state a motive for the crime. The shooting occurred at the Finley Forest condominium complex  news site WRAL reports, home to a number of college and graduate students.

The gunman has been identified by Chapel Hill police as Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, who turned himself in to police on Tuesday evening. He was arrested and is being held without bond at Durham County jail on three counts of first-degree murder, AFP reports. Hicks is expected to make his first court appearance on Wednesday morning.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the leading Muslim civil advocacy organization in the U.S., issued a statement on Wednesday calling on law enforcement to declare a motive. Media reports have quoted a widely-shared Facebook post from Hicks

in which he quotes prominent religious critic Richard Dawkins on the Sept.  11  terrorist attacks. Dawkins condemned the shootings in a subsequent tweet, according to The Guardian.

"Based on the brutal nature of this crime, the past anti-religion statements of the alleged perpetrator, the religious attire of two of the victims and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in American society, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case," Nihad Awad, national executive director of CAIR, said in a statement.

#MuslimLivesMatter#ChapelHillShooting Deah Barakat, 23, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, Razan Abu-Salha, 19  pic.twitter.com/ghkpSvSFMo

— CAIR-New York (@CAIRNewYork) February 11, 2015

United Muslim Relief, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, said they mourn the “tragic loss” of the three students. Barakat and Mohammad were the founding members of the group’s North Carolina Triangle chapter, athe organization said.

“As we mourn their tragic loss, we are also inspired to see how much these young people accomplished in their short lives. In an increasingly individualistic world, their lives stand as a shining example to young people all over the world,” Abed Aoub, president of United Muslim Relief, said in a statement.

Barakat was a second-year student in the UNC dental school, where Yusor Abu-Salha was planning to start classes in the fall, AFP reports. Razan Abu-Salha was a student at North Carolina State University.

A Facebook group, Our Three Winners, has been set up to remember the three students and features photos of them, including wedding photos of Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha. The group also includes a link to a YouTube video for Refugee Smiles, an organization Barakat was involved in that provides urgent dental care to Syrian refugees.