Washington D.C.- The family of three Muslim college students shot “execution style” over a parking dispute says that their loved ones were killed because of their religion.
All three of the victims, Deah Barakat, 23, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan Abu-Salha, 19, were Muslim. The victims, a newlywed couple and the bride’s younger sister, were shot in the head.
The man who turned himself in for the shootings, 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks, has been charged with murder. Hicks claims that he killed all three students over an ongoing dispute regarding parking.
Meanwhile the community around University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has shown a powerful outpouring of support for the family. More than 2,000 people turned out for the vigil on the campus.
A look at the thousands who have gathered in the Pit to honor Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha & Razan Abu-Salha. pic.twitter.com/1waMMnzs2R
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) February 11, 2015
The suspect, Craig Hicks was a self-proclaimed atheist and his Facebook page contains various anti-Muslim and anti-Christian posts.
In the video above Ben Swann speaks with family spokesperson Linda Sarsour who says that the family of the victims has plenty of reason to believe that these three murders were motivated by hate.