President Barack Obama reacted Friday to the slaying of three Muslim students earlier this week near the University of North Carolina, stating that “no one in the United States of America should ever be targeted” for their religion.
“Yesterday, the FBI opened an inquiry into the brutal and outrageous murders of Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, Deah Shaddy Barakat, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha in Chapel Hill, North Carolina,” Obama said in a statement. “In addition to the ongoing investigation by local authorities, the FBI is taking steps to determine whether federal laws were violated.”
“No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship,” the statement continued. “Michelle and I offer our condolences to the victims’ loved ones. As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family. Whenever anyone is taken from us before their time, we remember how they lived their lives – and the words of one of the victims should inspire the way we live ours.”
The President concluded by quoting an interview one of the victims gave last year to the StoryCorps oral history project.
“Growing up in America has been such a blessing,” Obama quoted Yusor as saying. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. There’s so many different people from so many different places, of different backgrounds and religions – but here, we’re all one.”
