Vigil held at Stanford for three NC students killed

PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- The three people who were shot to death in a North Carolina condominium Tuesday were honors students and included a couple who just married two months ago.

There is outrage and sadness after three Muslim college students were shot and killed in North Carolina. Wednesday night thousands around the country mourned their deaths. Locally, a candlelight vigil was held on the Stanford University campus.

ABC7 News has learned one of the victims has Bay Area ties.

The three college students, all Muslim, were shot and killed in a quiet neighborhood in Chapel Hill. The suspect is Craig Hicks who is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. His wife says he snapped over a parking situation and says it had nothing to do with their faith.

The sister of one of the victims, Suzanne Barakat, is a doctor at San Francisco General Hospital. She says the family wants to see it investigated as a hate crime.

Suzanne said publicly, "Today we are crying tears of unimaginable pain over the execution-style murders of my brother, his bride, Yusor, and her younger sister and best friend, Razan."

Wednesday there was a huge outpouring at the University of North Carolina where hundreds turned out for a vigil to remember the victims and to support the family.

A vigil was also held at Stanford. Students are demanding answers about the deadly shooting in Chapel Hill.

About 100 students gathered for a candlelight vigil, organized by the Islamic Society of Stanford University to remember the Muslim students murdered by a neighbor near UNC. Local students believe the motive was hate based on "Islamophobia" and not a dispute over noise or parking.

ABC7 News spoke to Stanford student Tesay Yusuf who said, "Someone who doesn't have hate in their hearts for a person doesn't come to complain about noise with a gun, and doesn't settle a parking dispute by shooting three people in the head."

Students plan to send condolences from Stanford to the victim's families and have plans to gather again to grieve their loss.