Khalid Newazi
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A family of three young Muslims have been shot dead in their home in a quiet neighbourhood of North Carolina in the US.
Police have named the victims as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.
Officers were called to reports of gunshots at 5.11pm at an apartment block largely housing academics and young professionals on Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill.
The victims were found shot dead at the scene, while some residents described not even being aware there was an incident until police arrived.
A 46-year-old man, named by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder.
Some compared the incident to the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, and others called on Barack Obama and senior religious figures to condemn the attacks.
An American football and basketball fan, Mr Barakat was believed to be a dental student at the University of North Carolina and volunteered with a charity providing emergency dental care to children in Palestine.
He regularly posted on Twitter, and wrote in January: “It's so freaking sad to hear people saying we should ‘kill Jews’ or ‘kill Palestinians’. As if that's going to solve anything.”
The three victims were recently pictured together at the graduation of his sister-in-law, Razan, who ran a blog showing her interest in photography and art.
She had started a degree at North Carolina State University last summer, studying Architecture and Environmental Design, and her Twitter biography read: “I like buildings and other stuff.”
A community Facebook page set up in the memory of the three victims, called “Our Three Winners”, thanked people for their support and said it would carry “official announcements”.
Chapel Hill shooting: Three young Muslims gunned down in North Carolina family home - Americas - World - The Independent
Although the shooting is widely discussed in social media, the mainstream American media has either remained silent or given little coverage to the incident.
Police have named the victims as 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.
Officers were called to reports of gunshots at 5.11pm at an apartment block largely housing academics and young professionals on Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill.
The victims were found shot dead at the scene, while some residents described not even being aware there was an incident until police arrived.
A 46-year-old man, named by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder.
Some compared the incident to the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, and others called on Barack Obama and senior religious figures to condemn the attacks.
An American football and basketball fan, Mr Barakat was believed to be a dental student at the University of North Carolina and volunteered with a charity providing emergency dental care to children in Palestine.
He regularly posted on Twitter, and wrote in January: “It's so freaking sad to hear people saying we should ‘kill Jews’ or ‘kill Palestinians’. As if that's going to solve anything.”
The three victims were recently pictured together at the graduation of his sister-in-law, Razan, who ran a blog showing her interest in photography and art.
She had started a degree at North Carolina State University last summer, studying Architecture and Environmental Design, and her Twitter biography read: “I like buildings and other stuff.”
A community Facebook page set up in the memory of the three victims, called “Our Three Winners”, thanked people for their support and said it would carry “official announcements”.
Chapel Hill shooting: Three young Muslims gunned down in North Carolina family home - Americas - World - The Independent
Although the shooting is widely discussed in social media, the mainstream American media has either remained silent or given little coverage to the incident.
