Expressing his deep concerns over the rising incidents of racial crimes, US President Barack Obama called the fatal shooting of three Muslims in North Carolina “brutal and outrageous murders.”
“No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship,” Obama said in a written statement.
The President confirmed a thorough investigation into the unfortunate incident by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in order to determine whether the federal laws were violated.
The North Carolina field office of the FBI said in an emailed statement that the agency is providing all sort of assistance to the Chapel Hill Police Department in order to process the evidence associated with a triple homicide probe.
“The federal probe agency has also opened a parallel preliminary investigation for determining whether or not any federal laws were violated related to the case,” the emailed statement said.
Calling the security of civil rights of the people of US the top-most priority for the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder said, “Along with the ongoing local investigation, I have made available the full resources of the Department of Justice to help ensure that justice will be served in this case.”
Meanwhile, the family and friends of the victims have termed the un-called killings a ‘hate crime’.
On Tuesday, three members of a same Muslim family, including two sisters and husband of one of the women were fatally shot down by 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks near the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
The names of the victims were newlyweds Deah Shaddy Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha.
The police have arrested Hicks on the charges of first-degree murder. According to the police, the preliminary investigations suggest that the killings were part of a long-simmering dispute over a parking space.
