Three American students have been shot to
death at a residential complex of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and a suspect has been arrested over the
incident, according to local police.
Chapel Hill police told local news outlets that
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and
charged with killing the three Muslim
students.
He is being held at the Durham County Jail,
and is expected to make a first court
appearance Wednesday morning.
In a statement posted online , Chapel Hill
police said that "preliminary investigation
indicates that the crime was motivated by an
ongoing neighbour dispute over parking."
"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," the statement said quoting Police
Chief Chris Blue.
Hicks turned himself in after the shooting on
Tuesday in Chapel Hill, just outside the
campus of the University of North Carolina,
AFP news agency reported.
Police officers responded to a report
of shooting at around 5:15pm on Tuesday,
and found three people who were pronounced
dead at the scene.
The police website released a statement
confirming the three deaths and saying the
department is "questioning a person of
interest in the crime and has reason to believe
that there is no ongoing threat to the public".
The victims were identified as 23-year-old
Deah Shaddy Barakat, his 21-year-old wife,
Yusor Mohammad, and her sister, 19-year-old
Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, police said.
Aljazeera.
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