The FBI has opened a preliminary hate-crime investigation into the murder of three Muslim students this week near the University of North Carolina.
The agency said late Thursday in a statement that it would continue to provide assistance to the Chapel Hill Police Department as it investigates the murders, according to the Los Angeles Times. Local authorities had already announced their intention to look into whether religious hate played a role in the triple shooting.
The FBI added that it had opened its own “parallel preliminary inquiry to determine whether or not any federal laws were violated related to the case,” according to the LA Times.
Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder. The victims were identified as Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; Bakarat’s wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and Abu-Salha’s sister Razan, 19.
Police have suggested that Hicks may have been motivated to commit the murders by a long-running parking dispute. But many social media users pointed to Hicks’ Facebook profile, which showcases his strong anti-religion bias and love of guns, as evidence of a potential motive after the shooting.
In light of this report…it would behoove the US to look at the perpetrators who are…
Overwhelmingly angry, armed, and white males!
I get the feeling many believe it can’t be a hate crime if he is an atheist. I’d like to know where he got his “news”. Did Hicks watch Fox and listen to Rush? That might be some of the fuel for the hate. I can tell you that my Fox watching in-laws talk hate about most anyone who isn’t white and Christian (not that they ever enter a church themselves).
If you look at the common denominator for much of this vile hate, you will likely find they spend a lot of time in front of the TV watching Fox where hate is spewed 24/7.
All we know about his political leanings is that in the last two elections he voted once as a Democrat and once as nonpartisan. But nice attempt in making him a right winger. I know it hurts many here that this nut didn’t turn out to be a local Tea Party member or Christian Conservative. Because if he was this would be running non-stop on MSNBC blaming Fox News and talk radio for creating a backlash against Muslims.
If an atheist shoots someone, it’s the guns fault.
I have relatives that have had their hatred amped up by Dawkins and Harris. It’s troubling to see otherwise educated people sink into the same thinking they rightfully criticize. Now this shooting. At least their numbers are relatively low. However, though few will resort to this sort of thing, the wacko fringe atheists may. The bigger problem lies in what they support from a political point of view since we are soon to be marched to war again in the Middle East.
The problem is that it is very difficult to prosecute under the federal hate crime statute (18 US Code § 249). Keep in mind that murder is not a federal crime unless it involves the murder of a federal employee or is committed on federally-owned land. Furthermore, the feds can’t prosecute if the state has jurisdiction unless the state asks the federal government to assume jurisdiction or if the state declines to prosecute. However, all of the jurisdictional restrictions notwithstanding, the federal government can investigate potential hate crimes without restriction