Omar AbdelBaky, 24, jokingly complained that when he and Deah Shaddy Barakat grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, they didn’t get fancy toy helicopters.
Barakat, 23, asked his friend for his address.
Two weeks later, a delivery guy dropped one of those helicopters at AbdelBaky’s door.
“That’s who Deah was — he gave without thinking twice about it. I want people to know that about him — he was such a kind person,” AbdelBaky said.
His voice trailed off. It’s been barely a day since Barakat, Barakat’s 21-year-old wife Yusor Mohammad, and her 19-year-old sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were shot and killed at the Barakats’ home in Chapel Hill.
Barakat worked tirelessly to raise money in the hope of providing dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Mohammad brought young women together in her community, forging strong friendships while she also focused on school. Mohammad Abu-Salha was a talented artist.
It was so hard, AbdelBaky said, to conceive of so much life suddenly snuffed out.
Police said Wednesday that “an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking” may have been a factor in the killings, but some social media users are questioning whether the victims’ faith might have also been a motivation. At a press conference on Wednesday, Suzanne Barakat, Deah’s older sister, asked authorities to investigate the “senseless and heinous murders” as a hate crime.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, turned himself in to police and is facing murder charges.
In one post widely shared online, Hicks, who claimed he is an atheist, allegedly wrote: “When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I.”
CNN couldn’t independently confirm the authenticity of the post or his Facebook page.
The father of the women told the News & Observer in Raleigh that the three were killed “execution-style, a bullet in every head.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations called for police to “address speculation about a possible bias motive.”
‘Gems of their communities’
Deah Barakat was a dental student. Yusor Mohammad had wed her husband about a month ago and had just moved in with him, AbdelBaky said.
She had been accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill’s dental program and was set to begin classes in the fall.
Mohammad Abu-Salha was a sophomore at North Carolina State University.
A Facebook tribute page for the three featured Mohammad Abu-Salha’s work as a videographer and an artist.
Footage of her putting together a 3-D model is featured with a post saying the university recently recognized her for her art.
“She was wonderful!” someone wrote.
Another picture shows Yusor Mohammad’s father twirling her around at her wedding.
“Six weeks ago I cried tears of joy at my baby brother’s wedding,” Suzanne Barakat said. “Today, we are crying tears of unimaginable pain.”
Deah, she said, was “well known for his all-embracing kindness,” his light-heartedness and his love for basketball and curry.
All three victims were “gems of their communities and left a lasting impression on the people around them,” Suzanne Barakat said. “They inspired us. They served as role models to the youth. We ask that you celebrate the memories of our family members. We are still in a state of shock and will never be able to make sense of this horrendous tragedy.”
Kind, loving and generous
AbdelBaky has known Deah Barakat since they were about 5 years old, growing up in a tight-knit Muslim community in Raleigh.
Deah was one of the most altruistic people AbdelBaky has ever known, he told CNN.
The son of Syrian immigrants, Deah raised money to provide dental care to Syrian war refugees. He had already managed to collect at least $10,000, AbdelBaky said.
More money poured in after his death. By Wednesday afternoon, the fund raising web site showed more than $102,000 in donations.
The tribute page features a video of Deah Barakat explaining that he hoped to go to Turkey and provide free dental procedures for Syrian war refugees. He said he planned to work with 10 other dentists to hand out toothbrushes and paste at refugee camps and show good oral hygiene and teach refugees how to care of themselves.
“Have you ever felt helpless about the situation in Syria and felt like you can’t do anything about it? Well, this is your opportunity to help…” he said. “These kids don’t have access to the same health care as us. And their prolonged pain can easily be taken care of with the work that we do.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the page had more than 44,000 likes.
Last week, Barakat gave out toothbrushes at a homeless shelter.
His parents taught him and his older brother and sister the importance of generosity, friends said.
AbdelBaky remembers attending massive dinners at Barakats’ home where many laughed and ate and told stories all night.
Last year, Barakat’s mother made lunch for his dental class of about 80 people, driving the home-cooked goodness from Raleigh to Chapel Hill.
A couple in love
When Barakat attended North Carolina State University, where he met his wife, he dreamed of becoming a dentist, his friend said.
“Dentistry was a great fit for Deah — you can get people out of pain and fix smiles and make people happy,” AbdelBaky said.
He was ambitious and hard working, friends said, but he always knew how to play.
Basketball was his game and he was always organizing pickup games.
Mariem Masmoudi’s brother shot hoops with Barakat this week.
She said Yusor Mohammad was planning to get some girlfriends together this week to hang out, talk about life and discuss the importance of living a just life according to religious principle.
It saddens her immensely when she thinks about the optimism all three shared, suddenly snuffed out.
“There was so much love and so much joy and happiness,” Masmoudi said.
The Barakats “were really an adorable young couple. I don’t know how to say it … they really radiated this kind of light. They radiated humility, kindness, love. You couldn’t help but be inspired by them.”
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.
