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US: Atheist Terrorist Craig Stephens Kills Three Muslims in #ChapelHillShooting

NewsRescue

ADAM WITHNALL

Independent UK

The man arrested on suspicion of killing three young Muslims in North Carolina described himself as an “anti-theist” and criticised all religions online.

Police said 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks handed himself in to officers in Chapel Hill overnight in the wake of the deaths of 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

He has been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

As tributes poured in for the young family, a Facebook page in Hicks’ name showed that he read paralegal studies at Durham Technical Community College and described himself as a supporter of “Atheists for Equality”.

READ MORE: THREE YOUNG MUSLIMS GUNNED DOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA

A regular social media user, his last three posts were a cute dog video about the Pavlov effect, a viral advert for Air New Zealandinvolving mountain bikes, and a picture from United Atheists of America asking “why radical Christians and radical Muslims are so opposed to each others’ influence when they agree about so many ideological issues”.

TV programmes liked by Hicks include The Atheist Experience, Criminal Minds and Friends, while he describes himself as a fan of Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason and Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion.

Hicks posted this picture with the caption: ‘Yes, that is 1 pound 5.1 ounces for my loaded 38 revolver, its holster, and five extra rounds in a speedloader’

This picture shows Hicks on holiday with his wife in Disneyland

Hicks read paralegal studies at Durham county’s Technical Community College

Hicks’ pictures largely consist of images with text mocking religion and supporting atheism, but include images of himself and his wife at Disneyland, what he describes as his “loaded 38 revovler”, and himself separately on a quad bike and wearing a suit.

The shooting of the three Muslims has been widely condemned across social media, including by Richard Dawkins himself, who tweeted: “How could any decent person NOT condemn the vile murder of three young US Muslims in Chapel Hill?”

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BenNorton

Three Muslim-Americans were murdered at an apartment complex near the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill on 10 February 2015, in what appears to be an anti-Muslim terrorist attack. Nine hours after the attack (which occurred at 5pm EST), there was very little media coverage, and no national coverage by any major news outlets.

Family members have confirmed on social media that the victims were Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha.

Barakat and Yusor had only just been married.

The happy young couple had their entire lives ahead of them. Yusor had just began a D.D.S. program at the UNC School of Dentistry, according to her LinkedIn profile. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 2014, and was 21 years old. According to his LinkedIn profile, Barakat had graduated in 2013. He appeared to work in law. He was 23. Barakat had created a Syrian Dental Relief program for Syrian refugee students in Turkey. He has now surpassed his original goal of $20,000. Razan was a UNC student as well. She was still a teenager, at just 19 years of age. Her last tweet on her Twitter account , on the evening of 9 February, was a Vine video of her friend dancing to music in a car.

 


Razan also kept a Tumblr blog on which she regularly posted. Her blog looks like it could have been any of ours. Yet she was killed because she practiced a different religion.

Some reputable sources are claiming the three were murdered execution-style. It is hard to verify, because, again, the media has released very little information.

Nine hours after the attack, local media finally reported that 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks had turned himself in to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office in Pittsboro, NC. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

 

Read more, as it is being updated

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