The mourners gathered on UNO's campus Monday night, holding candles and a banner with the victims’ faces outlined on it in order to show the execution-style shootings.
Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were fatally shot near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus on February 10.
Craig Hicks, 46, was identified as the shooter and indicted by a grand jury Monday on three counts of first degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 4.
Basma Basma, who organized the Monday night event, said she decided to hold such a ceremony because she felt the tragedy was not sufficiently being talked about.
"It wasn’t sitting well with me, and I thought, we have to do something we have to make a change. We deserve justice," said Basma.
"When I heard this had happened to Muslims, it struck really close to home. I am a Muslim American, I've lived here my entire life," she explained.
Lyla El-Refaie, who also helped organize the event, said that she has a message for all people around the world and that is “all lives matter.”
The tragic murders of three bright Muslim students have started a debate over whether the students were targeted because of their religion.
The incident has also caused outrage among Muslims all over the world, calling for the killer to be charged with hate crime.
Source: Press TV
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