Father’s Hate Crime Story Brings House Panel To Tears

CBS News reports:

As Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha calmly, clinically, described reviewing the autopsy reports for his murdered daughters and son-in-law, members of the House Judiciary Committee clasped their hands over the mouths, stifling tears.

The Feb. 10, 2015 murders of 21-year-old Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, her 23-year-old husband Deah Shaddy Barakat, and 19-year-old sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, shocked the Chapel Hill, North Carolina community where they were shot in their home.

The U.S. Department of Justice investigated the deaths as a hate crime, but the suspect Craig Hicks was ultimately charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He has not yet stood trial.

Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha: “In a desperate attempt to make it bearable, an officer whispered: ‘They didn’t suffer. It was swift. It was one shot to the back of the head.’ Well, his statement didn’t make it any more bearable. Nothing did.” pic.twitter.com/fTnGyLs7bM

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 9, 2019

Several committee members visibly crying as Dr Mohammad Abu-Salha’s describes the deaths of his two daughters and son-in-law in the 2015 Chapel Hill shooting. pic.twitter.com/Mpx2xEvDcQ

— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) April 9, 2019

Dr. Mohammad Abu-Salha was called as a witness for the #HateCrimeHearing to offer a victim’s perspective, because of the killings of his daughters & son-in-law. Instead he’s been asked repeatedly to explain Islamic teachings on hate & whether he taught his kids to hate.

— Hannah Allam (@HannahAllam) April 9, 2019