A young dental student at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill was among the three students shot to death following a parking dispute.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, a second-year dental student at UNC; his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were killed February 10 at a condo complex near the campus, according to a WRAL.com story.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, turned himself in to police and was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths, WRAL reported.
The three victims were Muslim, and Hicks is not, according to Hicks' social media posts about atheism, causing some to question whether the victims' Islamic faith was a factor in the shooting.
The ADA issued a statement expressing its shock and sadness over the murders.
"We mourn with Deah's family and friends at this upsetting time," said ADA President Maxine Feinberg, DDS. "The thoughts and prayers of the dental community go out to all who have suffered this tremendous loss, made even more painful by the alleged religious intolerance."
Barakat was known as a generous spirit who volunteered with the Miswak Foundation, which conducts dental relief missions in underserved areas across the world, the ADA said.
According to an online fundraising website, Barakat helped organize efforts to raise money to provide free dental care to students of a school in Turkey. Barakat and others had planned to go to Turkey this summer of 2015 to treat children who have become refugees due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.
