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---
description: Five years after three Chapel Hill, N.C., college students were killed, the case highlights the struggle to define bias crimes in the U.S.
title: It was a killing fueled by rage, but was it a hate crime?
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d858909d6de6e9b/698a0a4a929fadf9d0bf5b39/IMG_1469.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=2400&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

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# The Killer Was Driven by Rage, but Was the Murder of 3 College Students a Hate Crime?


Feb 18, 2020 12:00 PM CUT

by 

[Emily Kassie](/author/emily-kassie/)


## Emily Kassie


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Feb 18, 2020 12:00 PM CUT

This _documentary was produced in partnership with_ [_The Marshall Project_](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/02/18/anatomy-of-hate "undefined")_, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system._

Five years ago, [three Muslim college students were gunned down](https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/06/12/the-murderer-was-full-of-hate-but-did-he-commit-a-hate-crime "undefined") in their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by a white neighbor, Craig Hicks. Deah Barakat and Yusor Abu-Salha, two of the victims, were newlyweds. They were enjoying dinner with the bride’s sister, Razan Abu-Salha, who was also killed. Police labeled the crime a parking dispute, sparking outrage among Muslims around the globe. 

The killings came amid a surge in reports of bias-motivated attacks against Muslims in America, which [spiked 67 percent in 2015](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/fbi-hate-crimes-statistics-2016-report-231330 "undefined"), according to FBI data. Overall that year, [5,850 hate crimes were reported](https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2015-hate-crime-statistics-released "undefined") across the country**.** Last year, the FBI announced more than 7,120 reported hate crimes, with [physical assaults reaching a 16-year high](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/hate-crimes-fbi-report.html "undefined"). Although the latest data shows fewer attacks against Muslims and Arab-Americans that in 2015, civil rights groups say there are likely many more anti-Muslim incidents, including bullying and discrimination, that do not appear in FBI data. 

Did the murder of the college students in Chapel Hill meet the definition of a hate crime? That question is at the heart of our new documentary re-examining a case that reverberated around the world. This film sheds light on the way the nation is responding to rising levels of bias-fueled violence and how we define what constitutes a hate crime under the law.

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