WASHINGTON — Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) expressed doubts on Thursday about the Chapel Hill Police Department’s statement that the fatal shooting of three young Muslims earlier in the week was over a parking space.
Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, told CNN that he was “confident” there is more to the story of why Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed. He also urged authorities to pursue any leads pointing to a possible religious bias on the part of the victims’ neighbor, Craig Stephen Hicks, who has been charged with the shooting.
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“These young people were extraordinary, but they were not unique in that they’re young people who are Muslim who are doing what other young people around America are doing every day … which is trying to make this a better place, which is trying to contribute their talents to a better America, a better world,” Ellison said. “There will be plenty of time for police investigation, for justice to prevail. But right now let’s just celebrate the lives of these awesome young people and remember that we have so much more in common.”
“There’s so much more to this than their religious identification,” he added.
