A Chapel Hill, North Carolina man was charged on Wednesday with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of three Muslim students.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, has been accused of the murders of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19. All three recently graduated from local high schools. Barakat was studying at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Dentistry. The sisters studied at North Carolina State University.
A police spokesman told the News Observer that the preliminary investigation shows that the crime was linked to an “ongoing neighbor dispute over parking.” Hicks is currently cooperating and is being held at the Durham County Jail.
“We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if that is the case,” Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said in a statement, reports NBC News.
Barakat (pictured above) and Yusor Abu-Salha were married in December. He was planning on taking a trip to Turkey this summer to help provide dental care for Syrian refugees. He even launched fundraising page, which has more than doubled its goal since his death.
screenshot via Deah Barakat YouTube video