President Barack Obama on Friday condemned the “brutal and outrageous murders” of three Muslim students who were shot earlier this week.
“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,” Obama said in a statement. “Michelle and I offer our condolences to the victims’ loved ones.”
The FBI is investigating the killings alongside local police. who believe the shooting was tied to an ongoing parking dispute, though they have not ruled out hate as a motive in the crime.
The three victims were students at the University of North Carolina and the victims’ family said they believe the killings were motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.
“As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family,” Obama said in the statement. “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.”
Obama then quoted one of the victims, Yusor Mohammed:
“Growing up in America has been such a blessing,” Yusor said recently. “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.”