--- description: The police are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime title: Huge Crowd Attends Vigil for Chapel Hill Shooting Victims at UNC image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7b9eb63dcf317e5/69877edd2dce0159999dd831/chapel-hill-vigil.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Huge Crowd Attends Vigil for Chapel Hill Shooting Victims  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Feb 12, 2015 2:01 AM CUT  Namee Barakat (center) and his wife Layla (right) break into tears while watching a photo presentation during a vigil for his daughters on Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Namee Barakat (center) and his wife Layla (right) break into tears while watching a photo presentation during a vigil for his daughters on Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C.Chuck Liddy—Raleigh News/TNS/Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Feb 12, 2015 2:01 AM CUT A large crowd [gathered](http://www.wncn.com/story/28083366/victims-in-chapel-hill-shooting-were-promising-students "undefined") at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, campus on Wednesday night to mourn the loss of three Muslim students who were shot near campus Tuesday. All three victims — Deah Barakat, 23; his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister Razan Abu-Salha, 19 — were shot in the head. A 46-year-old man named Craig Stephen Hicks turned himself over to the authorities and was charged for the crime on Tuesday. Police say they believe the shooting might have been related to an ongoing dispute over a parking space between neighbors, but say they have not determined a motive. The father of two the dead, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha, said Wednesday he [believed it was a hate crime](http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/11/4547742/chapel-hill-police-arrest-man.html "undefined"). “It was execution style, a bullet in every head,” Abu-Salha said. “This was not a dispute over a parking space; this was a hate crime.” Both UNC chancellor Carol Folt and North Carolina State University chancellor Randy Wooden spoke at the vigil, as did the victims’ family members, according to WNCN. \[[_WNCN_](http://www.wncn.com/story/28083366/victims-in-chapel-hill-shooting-were-promising-students "undefined")\] ### Witness Scenes from the Vigil for Chapel Hill's Shooting Victims  A woman cries as a video is played during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina, for three Muslim students who were murdered, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Chris Keane—Reuters  Namee Barakat and his wife Layla Barakat, parents of shooting victim Deah Shaddy Barakat, embrace during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Chris Keane—Reuters  People light candles during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina, for three Muslim students who were murdered, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Al Drago—The News & Observer/AP  People gather at "The Pit" during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina, for three Muslim students who were murdered, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Travis Long—The News & Observer/AP  Nida Allam, a senior at North Carolina State University, rests her head on Asheen Allam, during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina, for three Muslim students who were murdered, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Al Drago—The News & Observer/AP  A woman holds a candle during a vigil on the campus of the University of North Carolina, for three Muslim students who were murdered, in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Feb. 11, 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3706387/north-carolina-chapel-hill-vigil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3706387/north-carolina-chapel-hill-vigil/"},"headline":"Huge Crowd Attends Vigil for Chapel Hill Shooting Victims","datePublished":"2015-02-12T02:01:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:41.527Z","description":"The police are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime","url":"https://time.com/3706387/north-carolina-chapel-hill-vigil/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7b9eb63dcf317e5/69877edd2dce0159999dd831/chapel-hill-vigil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7b9eb63dcf317e5/69877edd2dce0159999dd831/chapel-hill-vigil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Namee Barakat (center) and his wife Layla (right) break into tears while watching a photo presentation during a vigil for his daughters on Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C.","caption":"Namee Barakat (center) and his wife Layla (right) break into tears while watching a photo presentation during a vigil for his daughters on Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C.","creditText":"Chuck Liddy—Raleigh News/TNS/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3706387/north-carolina-chapel-hill-vigil/","name":"Huge Crowd Attends Vigil for Chapel Hill Shooting Victims"}}]}] ```