Public Reflection Following Federal Inquiry Into Chapel Hill Shooting

Concurrently with President Obama’s condemnation of the killing of three

Muslim students at Chapel Hill, federal investigators on Friday, Feb. 13 started an inquiry into the possibility that the fatal shooting was a hate crime.

The event and the ensuing reaction has sparked public debate about the ways in which we view these tragedies, and the circumstances under which we apply terms like terrorism- and hate crime.

The three students who were killed, the sisters Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha and Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha; and Yusor’s husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, were shot on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at an apartment near the University of North Carolina.

The man responsible, Craig Hicks, has since turned himself in and was subsequently charged with 3 counts of murder.

On Friday, President Obama voiced that “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 President offered both his and his family’s condolences, and made a strong statement of solidarity, saying “As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family.”

Suzanne Barakat, the sister of 2 of the victims, said Friday during an interview with CNN that her family members were targeted because of their religion. She added that “It’s time people call it what it is,” saying that Hicks terrorized her family and that the murders should be considered an act of terrorism.

Kathryn Magee, a sophomore at OSU, said “An act of terrorism I always associate with helping a group to change/punish a nations ideas or beliefs” adding that “A hate crime can be isolated.”

The question that faces the public now; nationally, locally, and as individuals, is how, if at all, do we see or treat these tragedies differently? To what extent do the circumstances affect our attention and the ways in which we treat them as a society?

Cassie Allgire, a graduating senior studying both Criminology and Criminal Justice, explained that the way she saw it, a hate crime “Targets a certain race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender… While terrorism is more involving other countries… and not so much smaller issues.”

In response to the initial lack of public and federal attention, and with initial police statements indicating the likelihood that the attack was motivated by a parking dispute, people from over the world spoke out- notably on twitter under the hashtag #muslimlivesmatter.

The hashtag itself an adaptation of one used in another relatively recent tragedy- #blacklivesmatter- the hashtag that became immensely popular after the grand jury decisions following police killings of both Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

The similarity is no coincidence, both then and now- the vocalized protests under these banners seek public attention, justice for the victims, and due respect from people around the world.

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