Hamas-linked terror org CAIR and the families of the victims, however, are insisting that Craig Hicks hates Muslims, and targeted his victims because they were Muslims. Maybe Karen Hicks is lying, but the Chapel Hill Police said the same thing, although now they’re backtracking a bit under all the pressure. In any case, why would Karen Hicks lie about this? Her husband is established as a murderer. He is already exposed as a vile, psychotic creep. It doesn’t make him look any better to have murdered three innocent people in cold blood over a parking space rather than because they were Muslims. Note also that Craig Hicks’ Facebook page shows no sign of his hating Muslims, and reveals him to have been a hard-Left supporter of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Huffington Post, and the Ground Zero Mosque.
All this is worth noting in light of the fact that Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacist groups always try to make use of “hate crimes” against Muslims to stifle examination of how jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence and supremacism. This looks like yet another instance of their playing fast and loose with the facts to suit their political agenda.
“Families: Hate sparked Chapel Hill shooting, not parking issue,” WNCN, February 11, 2015 (thanks to Maged):
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The wife of a man accused of slaying three Muslims Tuesday afternoon in Chapel Hill insisted Wednesday that the killings were related to ongoing parking problems at the condominiums.
The father of the two women who were killed and of the man who were killed insisted, however, that Craig Stephen Hicks shot them because of their faith.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill, Yusor Mohammad, 21, of Chapel Hill, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh, were shot to death Tuesday night at the Finley Forest Condominiums on Summerwalk Circle.
Hicks, 46, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in a case that sent shock waves bolting through the Triangle and beyond. The events touched a sensitive nerve in the United States, with many taking to Twitter to say. Even in Washington, #ChapelHillShooting and`#MuslimLivesMatter was trending late Wednesday as the killings in a quiet corner of Chapel Hill sparked an intense national dialogue. And in Chapel Hill, the chancellors from UNC, N.C. State University and N.C. Central University all gathered for a vigil at The Pit on the Carolina campus.
But whether the killings were hate-driven was disputed by Karen Hicks, the wife of the man charged in the case. She held an emotional news conference Wednesday afternoon in which she expressed her shock at what happened and her sympathy for the families of the victims.
Hicks, like Chapel Hill Police earlier, insisted the killings were not related to the fact that the three were Muslims.
“I can say with absolute belief that this incident had nothing to do with religion of the victims’ faith, but it was related to a longstanding parking dispute that my husband had with the neighbors,” she said.
Hicks said she works full-time and her husband was taking classes at Durham Tech to become a paralegal.
“We were married for seven years,” Karen Hicks said. Treating all people with respect, she said, is “one thing I know about him. He often champions on his Facebook page for the rights of individuals. … He believes everyone is equal – doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are or what you believe.”
Her attorney, Robert Maitland II, insisted religion was not an issue and that Craig Hicks had tried to address parking problems in the Finley Forest neighborhood many times. He said the matter was over “a mundane” parking matter and said of the three killed, “Unfortunately, these victims were there at the wrong time at the wrong place.”
The attorney said the issue highlighted why there needs to be avenues to treat mental illness, but when asked if he was referring to any specific problems Craig Hicks had, said, “I’m not able to speak to that at this time.”
But the father of the two women, Mohammad Abu-Salha of Raleigh, said the killings were done “execution style” and that Hicks had been threatening before.
“A couple of weeks ago our daughter told us, ‘This man hates us. We don’t feel good about him,’ ” he said.
And Dr. Suzanne Barakat, the sister of Deah Barakat, expressed the family’s outrage over the murders.
“Six weeks ago I cried tears of joy at my brother’s wedding,” she said. “Today, we cry tears of pain at the execution-style murders.”
She called those who were killed “gems of their communities” who “left a lasting impression on the people around them.”
She also said the family asked that the government investigate their murders as a hate crime. For the moment, the United States government is not involved in the case as it plays out in the local jurisdictions.
“This is not a federal investigation yet,” said Ripley Rand, the federal prosecutor for the middle district of North Carolina.
The FBI said the Chapel Hill Police Department has requested its assistance “to process evidence in a triple homicide investigation.”
“It is standard practice for our state and local law enforcement partners to enlist the expertise and resources of the FBI as needed,” an FBI spokeswoman said.
Rand added that there was no evidence that there were any further threats to Muslims in North Carolina.
‘That’s how hate works’Chapel Hill police said Hicks was cooperating with the investigation while officers explored why he committed “such a senseless and tragic act.”
Mohammad Abu-Salha, the father of the two sisters, told WNCN that he believes the crime was motivated by hate.
“We’re holding strong. Our hearts are broken,” Abu-Salha said. “This is a hate crime and that’s how hate works.”
His feelings were echoed by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, who issued a statement Wednesday urging police to move swiftly on the matter.
“Based on the brutal nature of this crime, the past anti-religion statements of the alleged perpetrator, the religious attire of two of the victims, and the rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in American society, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to quickly address speculation of a possible bias motive in this case,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Our heartfelt condolences go to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the local community.”
Chapel Hill police Chief Chris Blue said his department understood the concerns and was working to determine if religious bias may have played a role in the three students’ deaths.
“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,” Blue said. “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these young people who lost their lives so needlessly.”…