University reacts to recent murder of Muslim students

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

Adrian Suarez Avila/ News Director

adrian.suarezavila@fiusm.com

Amidst news of a shooting that left three Muslim students dead in front of their apartment near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students offered their thoughts.

According to reports, the shooter was 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks, who turned himself in to the authorities at the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office after having committed the crime.

Early on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the bodies of the deceased were identified, according to the Washington Post.

The victims were Deah Barakat, a second-year dentistry student at the University of North Carolina, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, who was planning to enroll in UNC for the fall semester, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, a student attending North Carolina State University in Raleigh, all 23, 21, and 19 years of age, respectively.

Students and University staff members shared their sentiments.

“I think it’s extremely sad and unfortunate, and it’s a reflection of a lot of fear that’s out there that’s really based, I think, on ignorance,” said Ana Rosado, a coordinator for the University’s Graduate School.

Police informed news outlets that although the incident may have been a hate crime, it was alleged that the shooting was triggered by arguments that the three victims had with Hicks regarding parking.

Still, some students believe that the crime was committed in response to the victims’ religious beliefs.

Maite Hernandez, a senior psychology major, thinks this was the case.

“With the things that are going on the world right now, and ever since 9/11, I feel like people kind of have this misconception that anybody that is [Muslim] is out to get any [American.]”

She said that despite the fact that some may not consider themselves extremists, they may nonetheless end up targeting Muslims.

Those outraged by the crime took to social media outlets to express their feelings regarding the event.

On Twitter, users dubbed the hashtag MuslimLivesMatter to highlight their indignation over the shooting.

User @oddlyerin posted, “[So] devastated and outraged by the #ChapelHillShooting [sic] and the lack of mainstream media support.”

Hicks, the shooter, seems to have also resorted to social media a while before committing the crime.

According to CNN, it is alleged that he was responsible for writing at one point, “When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I.”

At the moment, however, the news network has been unable to check for the accuracy of the alleged post.

Chris Blue, the Chapel Hill police chief, commented in light of the event, according to the Washington Post.

“Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr. Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act,” Blue said. “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. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly.”

Hicks is currently being held without bond, and his hearing for probable cause is scheduled to commence on March 4.

In addition to providing their thoughts on the incident, students also offered potential ways of dealing with incidents of this kind to ensure that similar ones are not repeated.

Christophe Bicaba, a freshman mechanical engineering major, admits that he considers the shooting to have been a hate crime and in order to deal with it, colleges and universities and other institutions should take steps to promoting diversity and educating the public on issues of this kind.

Others agree.

“Just because one person believes one thing that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong, that doesn’t mean that they should be persecuted because of it,” said Gemma Laudicina, a senior English major.

Laudicina believes that Hicks should be punished accordingly for the crime he committed, adding that awareness should be spread in regards to the reality of hate crimes and the idea that with different religions come different ways of thinking.

Farris Barakat, brother of Deah, has taken to Facebook to provide information on the status of his brother’s death.

The page, titled, Our Three Winners, includes in its description, “This page is intended to facilitate communication and will hopefully carry on their legacy of service, great character and joy for life.”

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