Police launch hate crime probe

Police probing the murder of three Muslim students by a North Carolina man said on Wednesday they are studying whether the slayings were racially motivated, as thousands gathered to mourn the victims and denounce intolerance.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after Tuesday's shootings in the university town of Chapel Hill sparked outrage among Muslims worldwide.

Police emphasized that initial investigations indicated a dispute between Hicks and his victims over parking spaces may have been the catalyst for a shooting spree that claimed the lives of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.