US gunman kills three Muslims

WINSTON: A gunman who had posted anti-religious messages on social media was charged with killing three Muslim students near the University of North Carolina in what police said on Wednesday was an ongoing dispute over parking.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, of Chapel Hill, was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, the Chapel Hill Police Department said in a statement. He was being held at Durham County Jail.
Muslim activists demanded that authorities investigate Hicks for possible hate crimes in the killings late on Tuesday of the three students who were all involved in humanitarian aid programmes.
“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” police said in a statement.
“Hicks is cooperating with investigators and more information may be released at a later time.” Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said in a statement: “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.”
On Facebook, Hicks’ profile picture reads “Atheists for Equality” and he frequently posted quotes critical of religion. On Jan 20 he posted a photo of a .38-calibre revolver that he said was loaded and belonged to him.
“Yes, that is 1 pound 5.1 ounces for my loaded 38 revolver, its holster, and five extra rounds in a speedloader,” the post said. The victims in the shooting are Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.