On Tuesday, February 10th, three people were shot to death near the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The three victims were Muslim students: Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

The three have been described as “people who set an example in life and death” and “gems of their community.”  Since the shooting, the alleged shooter, Craig Hicks, has been indicted by a grand jury. The initial motive the police stated was Hicks’ and the victims’ on-going parking dispute, but they are not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime.

North Carolina’s Muslim community is in shock and disbelief in the wake of the triple murder. According to many, religious hate is seldom experienced in Chapel Hill. However, many people have called this shooting “anything but a dispute over parking”, and there has, in fact, been a lot of controversy among the public. The tragedy has sparked debate on many social media platforms and the hashtag “#MuslimLivesMatter” has trended nationally on Facebook and Twitter. Many people have also pointed out that it took longer for the Chapel Hill shooting to appear on news platforms than it has taken other similar stories in the past, hinting that the delayed media reaction was due not to the nature of the crime, but because of the victims religious beliefs.

“Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr. Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act. We understand the concerns about the possibility that this was hate-motivated and we will exhaust every lead to determine if this is the case” said Chapel Hill Police.

Craig Hicks has become quite the questionable character in this shooting. Hicks has been self-described as a “grumpy old man” and a “patriotic American.” He has posted a number of anti-religious and atheist posts on his Facebook page and mocked the idea of God saving people from death. His Amazon Wish-List contains items such as a gun concealment belt, a battlezone scope, a 9-inch knife, a camouflage suit, a drone and dental extracting forceps.

FSA Connection Questions

1. In the article the author suggests what main idea?
2. Select two sentences from the article that support the main idea.
3. In the piece the word “seldom” means what?
4. Do you think the murders were motivated by hate? Explain.
5. Summarize the article in one sentence.