Chapel Hill Shooting Victims Were Honors Students Who Volunteered to Serve

[Zarvan]

Deah Barakat, left, Yusor Mohammad, center, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, right, are seen in this undated Facebook file photo.
Our Three Winners/Facebook
NEXT VIDEOMuslim Students Killed Near UNC-Chapel Hill

AUTO START: ON | OFF




The three people who were shot to death in a North Carolina condominium Tuesday were honors students and included a couple who just married two months ago, authorities said today.

Deah Barakat, 23, a second-year student in UNC's School of Dentistry, married Yusor Mohammad, 21, in December, and Mohammad planned to begin her dental studies in the fall, authorities said. Her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a sophomore at North Carolina State University.



Chapel Hill Shooting: Neighbor Charged With Murder of 3 Honors Students

Yusor Mohammad/Facebook
PHOTO: Deah Barakat, right, Yusor Mohammad, left, are seen in this undated Facebook file photo.


Gunshots were reported after 5 p.m. in the Finley Forest condominiums in Chapel Hill, east of the University of North Carolina campus, police said.

Namee Barakat, father of victim Deah Barakat, told ABC News from his home in Raleigh that his son was "always smiling." He described his son and daughter-in-law, who met as undergrads at N.C. State, as "bright, intelligent, thoughtful, generous and loving."

He said Abu-Salah, from Raleigh, was visiting her sister.

A spokesman from the North Carolina State University said Abu-Salha was majoring in design and on the dean's list for the fall 2014 semester. The university spokesman said Barakat and Mohammad were alumnae of the school.



I just saw this photo of the couple killed in the #ChapelHillShooting...heartbreakingpic.twitter.com/2cE4Dh9opV

— ?man | ????? (@ImaniAmrani) February 11, 2015


"It is with great sadness I share with you the news that the three victims of a shooting yesterday evening near the UNC Chapel Hill campus include a current and two former NC State students," NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson said in a statement.

Barakat graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in business administration in May 2013. Yusor Mohammad graduated cum laude with a B.S. in biological sciences in December 2014, school officials said.

Our Three Winners/Facebook
PHOTO: Yusor Mohammad is seen in this undated Facebook file photo.


Barakat and ten local dentists and faculty from UNC School of Dentistry were planning a trip this summer to Rihaniya, Turkey, to provide dental care to students there, according to his fundraising page. Barakat was featured in a fundraising video to raise money for the trip.





"Deah and Yusor were exemplary students and activists who believed in humanity and helping people in need," Dr. Zaher Sahloul, the president of the Syrian American Medical Society, said in a statement. "Deah and Yusor felt that they had to do their part to help the Syrian people suffering, and fight the apathy of rest of the world. Their remarkable work and lives will never be forgotten."

Last summer, Mohammad traveled to Kilis, Turkey, to volunteer in dental relief, according to aFacebook memorial page for the victims.

Barakat tweeted about basketball and various fundraisers for Syrian refugees, including a charitable basketball tournament.



Kids these days lol Watch Deah Barakat's Vine "Mr. Personality"

— Deah Barakat (@arabprodigy30) June 29, 2014


Razan Abu-Salah was recognized by her university two weeks ago for her artistic ability in a time-lapse video of 3-D abstract model-making.

Thousands gathered at "the Pit," a popular courtyard beside the student union, for a vigil to mourn the three, ABC TV station WTVD in Durham reported.

Chuck Liddy/The News & Observer/AP Photo
Namee Barakat, right, wipes away tears as he and his wife, Layla, left, watch photos projected on a screen during a vigil for his son, daughter-in-law and her sister, who were killed near UNC-Chapel Hill, Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Travis Long/The News & Observer/AP Photo
People gather at UNC-Chapel Hill's "Pit" to mourn for Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammed and her sister Razan Mohammed Abu-Salha in Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. Craig Stephen Hicks is accused of killing the three on Tuesday.


Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He is being held in the Durham County Jail, and the investigation is ongoing, Chapel Hill police said in a news release.

Durham County Sheriff/AP Photo
PHOTO: This image shows a booking photo of Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, who was arrested on three counts of murder on Feb. 11, 2015 in Durham, N.C.


Police are also investigating whether this was a hate crime, though neighbors told authorities that Hicks had an ongoing dispute with the victims.

Get real-time updates as this story unfolds. To start, just "star" this story in ABC News' phone app. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here.
Chapel Hill Shooting Victims Were Honors Students Who Volunteered to Serve - ABC News

 

[Jf Thunder]

so who exactly are the terrorists now?

 

[DrawingDead]

so who exactly are the terrorists now?

I'd say the person in your avatar. This, it seems, was a dispute over a parking spot.

 

[Jf Thunder]

I'd say the person in your avatar. This, it seems, was a dispute over a parking spot.

well i will shoot someone next time, when someone doesnt give me parking,

wow you Americans are full of hypocrisy, if it was a Muslim who was the shooter, you would be screaming "OMG GOD THEY KILLED HIM, ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE, MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS"
Hypocrisy at its peak

 

[I.R.A]

so who exactly are the terrorists now?

As usual the ones who were killed, there must have been some very justified reason to kill them, I think it must be their smile in every picture, or they have names confirming them today's world most debated terrorists,

Is it something new for you?

 

[DrawingDead]

well i will shoot someone next time, when someone doesnt give me parking,

wow you Americans are full of hypocrisy, if it was a Muslim who was the shooter, you would be screaming "OMG GOD THEY KILLED HIM, ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF VIOLENCE, MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS"
Hypocrisy at its peak

If a Muslim had shot someone over a parking spot, he'd just another guy who shot someone. If he yells God is great in Arabic while shooting them, I might be inclined to think it was religiously motivated. What you should do is click on the link and read the news story. I think it might be helpful.

 

[doppelganger]

Very sad incident. RIP.

It is yet to be established though that the killing was because the three were Muslims. Most channels are reporting that they used to ark their cars in the space this guy liked/preferred, and the aggravation finally got to him.

This is the US you know. Am sure all of us have heard of shootings for smaller things there. Lets be balanced here and not cry Islamo-Wolf .....

 

[Jf Thunder]

If a Muslim had shot someone over a parking spot, he'd just another guy who shot someone. If he yells God is great in Arabic while shooting them, I might be inclined to think it was religiously motivated. What you should do is click on the link and read the news story. I think it might be helpful.

i doubt it, without even chanting that he would become a terrorist........
so what if he shouted "you all deserve to die" before shooting the Muslims, what would that make him, pls now stop quoting me, my patience is running out

 

[Shot-Caller]

If a Muslim kills for disrespect of his religion, all Muslims should be killed. If an american kills Muslims over parking space, hey it was just a parking dispute. Come on now.