Thousands of people participated in a vigil held Wednesday night at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for three Muslim students murdered on Tuesday.
Community and university leaders joined students, faculty and people from around the Triangle to commemorate the lives of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. Barakat, 23, was a second-year student at the UNC School of Dentistry, and his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, planned to attend the school beginning in the Fall. Razan Abu-Salha was a sophomore at North Carolina State University and the sister of Yusor Abu-Salha.
Police are investigating whether the victims were targeted because of their Muslim faith.
"If—and it is quite possible—that this was an act based off of evil and a scared ignorant man, do not let ignorance propagate in your life," Farris Barakat, Deah Barakat's brother, told the crowd.
Speakers expressed horror at the killings, but also stressed the impact that the victims had both in their local communities and around the world.
“The vigil did a great job honoring their memories, but no words or vigil could ever really do them justice. They were so amazing,” said Omar AbdelBaky, a student at the UNC School of Dentistry and close friend of Barakat’s.
Officials from both UNC and NC State expressed sorrow over the deaths while also emphasizing the positive impact that the students had left behind.
“We want the legacy of these three wonderful students to be a legacy of hope and understanding,” UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said.
Friends remembered how the victims gave back to the community. AbdelBaky noted that Barakat had delivered food and dental supplies to the homeless just last week. Yusor Abu-Salha traveled to Turkey last summer to deliver dental care to students there and Barakat was planning a similar trip for this coming summer.
Speakers remembered the little things, too.
“I want everyone to remember them, please, when you hear their names,” Nada Salem, a friend of the victims, said to the crowd. "Not to cry when you hear their names, but to laugh. To laugh at how clumsy Deah was playing basketball. And how Yusar loved having pancakes for breakfast, dinner and lunch. And how Razan loved to read and she was so geeky but so cute.”
Many of Barakat’s classmates from the School of Dentistry wore their scrubs to honor him.
“If Deah were to see me right now crying, he would probably smack me and tell me to put a smile on my face,” Brian Swift, UNC School of Dentistry Class of 2017 president, said after the vigil. "He was once of the nicest, most genuine souls you ever met in your life."
Nazmi Albadawi, a friend of the victims, remembered Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha as a “legit perfect couple and perfect family.”
“All the time you hear about so-called perfect families,” Albadawi said. “And you’re just like, 'Alright, there’s some stuff on the low that’s going on with them.' That wasn’t the case with them.”
Muneeb Mustafa, 23, said he attended the same mosque as Barakat in Raleigh. Barakat was touched the lives of everyone he met, he said.
“Humanity took a huge loss yesterday, and now we’re paying the price for it,” Mustafa said.
In the wake of the tragedy, UNC and NC State have received an outpouring of support from the local community—including Duke and North Carolina Central University.
"This was a really great demonstration, not just of the UNC community coming out to support the Muslim community, but also Duke, Carolina, North Carolina Central, North Carolina State and many others who came out to say that this meant more to them than what the rest of the world is thinking right now," said Joel Curran, vice chancellor for communications and public affairs at UNC.
Arif Sheikh, faculty advisor for the Muslim Student Association at UNC, said that positive emotions from students created a positive environment out of a horrible situation.
“I hope this leads to healthier understanding of one another, and we can try to overcome the hate that sometimes these random acts of violence can come from" Sheikh said.
Deah Barakat's brother, Basem, 10, cries "I want to see him again, I didn't get to say bye" #ChapelHillShooting pic.twitter.com/iac4TXePu8”
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