GUILTY NC - Deah Barakat, 23, his wife & her sister murdered, Chapel Hill, 10 Feb 2015

[Yoda]

Neighbors say Craig Stephen Hicks was a confrontational man who regularly harangued them about parking their cars in the wrong place and noise at the condominium complex where they lived.
But the neighbors and Hicks' wife say his angry and loud behavior did not include references of religious intolerance or racial hatred that some people say may be behind a fatal shooting in the complex Tuesday

"He was aggressive toward a lot of people in the community," said Maness, standing outside the building where Hicks lived. "He had equal opportunity anger toward a lot of the residents here."

Things got so bad, Hicks' neighbors held a community meeting last year at the clubhouse in their Finley Forest neighborhood about his tirades because his actions made them feel "unsafe and uncomfortable," Maness said.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02...ll-neighbors-describe.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

 

[Boodles]

it also shouldnt need to be said that people react differently to people that they have ongoing feuds with, as opposed to any other number of people that they interact with.

thanx for the quote of something he had said regarding religion btw, like i said before it is certainly something they should be looking into, i just have not seen evidence that the situation here is more about his intolerance and less about the long standing dispute over parking.

CNN had an interview with a family friend who just claimed that this was absolutely a hate crime, yet the CNN person did not ask one single question regarding why they thought that or what evidence there was for it.

the person (man) did say that the man that was killed (RIP) lived there for some time and there was no problem, but then he got married and the two women (RIP) moved in with him and that was when the problem started, the man said that it was obviously because the women wore headscarves and could be identified as muslim - an obvious question to ask at this point would be did the owmen have their own cars and that is also when people from that home started using the parking spot/s that started the dispute? but nothing like that was asked...

i understand it was not the time to grill the person like an investigator so that is not what i am suggesting.

did this man have other disputes with other neighbors?

I saw that interview, too. I kept wondering, ok so she moved in in January and that's when this conflict started (with this particular neighbor). Did she bring a car and start parking in his spot?

The attorney for the wife said his parking issue with the condo HOA has been ongoing, is longstanding and on public record. I infer from this that Hicks has disputed "parking" with multiple parties at the condo complex. Googling the condo, it sounds like there is limited parking and all visitors must park on the street. And the street is lacking in parking because it's an overflow for a Park 'n Ride directly adjacent. So parking seems to be an issue there and may have been an obsession for this guy.

Anyway, it might be a hate crime. Or he could be unstable with anger/rage "parking" issues and a gun. I trust the investigation will determine what's what. Oh, and if his wife was leaving him, he's unemployed, in school, etc., was he already an unstable guy stressed out by those additional life changes and snapped?

He shot three people in the head, then drove about 15 miles and turned himself in to police in the next county. It's just crazy. What a horrific tragedy.

 

[Boodles]

"“He was aggressive toward a lot of people in the community,” said Maness, standing outside the building where Hicks lived. “He had equal opportunity anger toward a lot of the residents.

Things got so bad, Hicks’ neighbors held a community meeting last year at the clubhouse in their Finley Forest neighborhood about his tirades because his actions made them feel “unsafe and uncomfortable,” Maness said."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02...be.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&rh=1#storylink=cpy

 

[Concerned Mama]

From WRAL:

Questions Surround Motive in Muslim Students' Slaying

Abdullah Antepli, director of Muslim affairs at nearby Duke University, was also there. He called for people not to jump to conclusions over the motive for the killings.

"This may or may not be a hate crime, personal speaking, because there is evidence in either direction at this point," he said. But saying 'either this way or that way' will be only unhelpful, and it will increase the tension that already exists."

I don't want to speculate if it is or isn't, but I don't see why it has to be one or the other. It sounds like Hicks had ongoing disputes with many of the neighbors over the parking situation, and if he was already disgruntled, it may have been easier to take that irrational anger out on the residents who happened to look and sound different from him. However, all we're doing is speculating here. It would be best just to wait and see what is revealed about Hicks in the next few days.

Our community is heartbroken over these senseless murders. Many of our Muslim students did not attend school today here in Chapel Hill. We're all in a bit of disbelief that such cold-blooded murders of these beautiful, bright college students happened in our liberal little oasis in the middle of a state where you don't have to drive far to spot confederate flags proudly displayed on front lawns.

My deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor, and sister-in-law, Razan Abu-Salha. What a horrible and needless tragedy.

 

[Portabella]

I would love to know the particulars around this parking spot.... I once had a parking place dilemma at an apt. complex of mine, it too got ugly, (not near as horrible as this) but still bad. If it had turned to physical violence then it would have been reported about it being over a parking spot, however there is much more to my story. I am wondering if there is MUCH more to this story....we will probably never know. And in no way am I trying to excuse the atrocity he committed, but just trying to understand ....

 

[SnoopyDawgDawg]

Regardless the underlying reason...anyone who shoots down three people is filled with hate, thus making it a "hate crime," IMO.

 

[kaen]

Clearly, if a person comes to your door to address issues with a gun visible, he is making a statement. His anger has concerned his neighbors and his spouse over time. If it is a "hate crime" as defined by the law, it may not meet the technical definition. No one discusses any utterances. We don't know if he had said anything about their religion or ethnicity upon turning himself in.

His focus on the issue of parking made him go over the top. It is a shame that his switch flipped and he killed everyone. If he shot one person, it might seem more passionate but to shoot three people in the head--- at some point he was deciding.

This is very sad for the three victims. They might have raised his ire about parking (and others have as well) but I can not see that any choice is worth losing your life.

 

[Ven]

Thousands of people gathered at UNC tonight to remember Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha.

 

[Indy Anna]

Sounds like Hicks was just an angry, hostile man who may have looked for the slightest opportunity to engage in conflict with others. IMO, that was the object of his rants against religions. He would have found a reason not to like anyone. Some people who harbor a lot of bitterness derive satisfaction from provoking other people into disputes and it only makes them angrier when their target doesn't react with rage. Muslims who are not extremists tend to be very quiet, humble and pacifistic. So, these three young people likely made prime targets for Hicks and he became furious when they tried to address the parking issue peacefully. JMO

Hicks will be welcomed with plenty of animosity in prison, I'm sure.

 

[SStarr33]

some people have a breaking point jmo

Didn't I read that he is in the middle of a divorce? Maybe this pushed him over the edge?

 

[lalalove]

i believe you said earlier that 99% of his social media posts were hate filled rants, i had asked for some proof of this claim, thanx for any further info. (dates he made the posts with hate filled rants, what sites he made them on, assuming they are not something you would feel comfortable repeating word for word)

I don't really think it's so much the content of the facebook posts that has people concerned. More so the fact that he has countless posts about anti-religion over the course of a couple years. The posts are all strongly against religion. It seems extremely obsessive, beyond the point of just being a belief. I rarely see facebook pages filled with posts containing the same content over the course of many years. He really wanted to force his views on other people.

 

[lalalove]

Sad article I saw yesterday by Buzzfeed with lots of photos of the victims.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwar...victims-of-the-chapel-hill-shooting#.rbaQmnpe

 

[Hoosgirl]

So very sad for our UNC community. My husband knew Deah on an acquaintance basis. No matter what the senseless motivation behind this crime it is horrible in every way, whether because of parking spaces or someone's religious or cultural background. My heart goes out to the families.

 

[liljim]

was very sad watching the funeral today, senseless. RIP

before anyone starts thinking i am defending this guy - i am NOT. he will never get out of prison and he should not, if you believe in the death penalty then he should certainly get it.

but i just dont want to see this thing go off the rails regarding whether or not it was a hate crime until the evidence is in, it seems like all the news wants to talk about right now is that fact.

i did get a chance to look at all of his comments on his facebook, almost everything he posts that is strongly anti-religion is a copy and paste. many things he posted in his own words were actually defending peoples right of religion. while also pointing out that it should be separate from government and that no religion should be more favored than any other.

so as far as his facebook goes i think you can actually find more comments by him that were in defense of the right to religion than you can find hateful remarks.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...l-slain-muslim-unc-students-article-1.2112935

Thousands packed a prayer service outside the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Thursday for the three Muslim students who were gunned down earlier this week.

The ceremony, held on an outdoor soccer field, spoke of love for all people, no matter their beliefs, as somber guests surrounded the caskets of newlyweds Deah Barakat, 23 and Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Abu-Salha's sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19.

"Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike, put mercy in your hearts. All lives matter," one speaker told the hushed crowd after singing an opening prayer.

 

[Elley Mae]

was very sad watching the funeral today, senseless. RIP

before anyone starts thinking i am defending this guy - i am NOT. he will never get out of prison and he should not, if you believe in the death penalty then he should certainly get it.

but i just dont want to see this thing go off the rails regarding whether or not it was a hate crime until the evidence is in, it seems like all the news wants to talk about right now is that fact.

i did get a chance to look at all of his comments on his facebook, almost everything he posts that is strongly anti-religion is a copy and paste. many things he posted in his own words were actually defending peoples right of religion. while also pointing out that it should be separate from government and that no religion should be more favored than any other.

so as far as his facebook goes i think you can actually find more comments by him that were in defense of the right to religion than you can find hateful remarks.

Thank You.

bbm I do and he should. jmo

 

[Elley Mae]

Having lived in a townhouse complex in the past renting/owning there is usually a marked/ #'d parking space for each unit. I wonder if that is what happened. Then I came across this article.

“I’ve actually had the guy pull out his gun over my taking his parking space.”

- Michael Nam, neighbor of triple murder suspect


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/02/1...sessed-with-parking-spaces/?intcmp=latestnews

 

[Boodles]

was very sad watching the funeral today, senseless. RIP

before anyone starts thinking i am defending this guy - i am NOT. he will never get out of prison and he should not, if you believe in the death penalty then he should certainly get it.

but i just dont want to see this thing go off the rails regarding whether or not it was a hate crime until the evidence is in, it seems like all the news wants to talk about right now is that fact.

i did get a chance to look at all of his comments on his facebook, almost everything he posts that is strongly anti-religion is a copy and paste. many things he posted in his own words were actually defending peoples right of religion. while also pointing out that it should be separate from government and that no religion should be more favored than any other.

so as far as his facebook goes i think you can actually find more comments by him that were in defense of the right to religion than you can find hateful remarks.

I agree with you, but glancing at social media, it seems the "hate crime train" has left the station. I'm shocked at how many people have defaulted to the assumption that this is religion/hate-based. I haven't seen any information to support that at all. Maybe it was. But maybe he's just a misanthropic unbalanced guy with a gun who lost it over a perceived transgression. But no, let's just assume he targeted these people (even though an entire group of people at his condo association had a meeting to discuss their fear of this guy) because they are Muslim. It's as though many people WANT this to be (religion) hate-based. There's so much anger being expressed by Muslims over lack of media attention and the president not speaking about the murders. Huh? It's front page where I am, right there with the Ukraine cease-fire. And why should the president comment?

Good luck to the investigators. If they find no evidence of "hate" (the criminal definition), there will be massive outrage and even more hysteria. Why would anyone want this to be hate-based (again, the legal definition)? I'm confused by this reaction. Very confused.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wral.com/thousands-mourn-in-raleigh-as-muslim-victims-laid-to-rest/14442350/

The women's father, Mohammad Abu-Salha, said police told him each was shot in the head in the couple's apartment...

"These children were executed with shots in the back of the head."

So Hicks was INSIDE their apartment when he shot them? I didn't realize that; thought it happened in the parking lot, for some reason.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/02/12/49791/we-re-all-one-chapel-hill-shooting-victim-said-in/

"Growing up in America has been such a blessing," Yusor Abu-Salha said in a conversation with a former teacher that was recorded by the StoryCorps project last summer. She later added, "We're all one, one culture." The recording gives us a new insight into Abu-Salha, 21, who was killed Tuesday...

NPR will broadcast part of Yusor Abu-Salha's conversation with her former teacher on Friday's Morning Edition, as part of its StoryCorps series...

When her former student asks Sister Jabeen what she would tell the world if she had its attention, she said, "Live in peace."

She has the world's attention now.

 

[Yoda]

Jmo. This had to have exasperated CH.

Chapel Hill murder suspect was banned from calling towing company

"It was often more than the average person," Christopher Lafreniere, with Barnes Towing, said Thursday. "It actually got to the point that he was not allowed to call a car in. If he called, we wouldn’t go out."

Read more at http://www.wral.com/chapel-hill-mur...-towing-company/14443091/#Wd7QHmXmHjyo6Eei.99