Young Muslim Family Shot Dead in Their Home

Tragic has struck Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A 46-year old man is suspected to have shot a Muslim family of three, seemingly without motive or reason. The “execution style murder” occurred in a quiet neighbourhood at 5PM on Tuesday, seizing the lives of 23-year old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

The suspect, Craig Stephen Hicks, has been arrested, however, Summerwalk Circles, the apartment block housing the young family, is in shock as the incident went largely unnoticed until police arrived to find the bodies. Barakat, a dentist, had been doing humanitarian work in Palestine early last year, while his sister in law had only just graduated and enrolled in a degree in Architecture and Environmental Design at North Carolina State University.

The crime seems to be inspired by Hicks’ hatred for religion that is displayed on his private Facebook page where he shared numerous pictures and articles about his atheist beliefs. Although nothing has been confirmed yet, speculations of a hate crime have been loud.

The loss of the young family cause social media turmoil. Calls for Barack Obama and other important figures to condemn the attack just as much as the Charlie Hebdo shooting last month are going viral, and a video showing a man trying to find out if his son had been shot dead is in circulation. A Facebook page has been created in memory of the victims.