Barakat, 23, asked his friend for his address.
Two weeks later, a delivery guy dropped one of those helicopters at Abdelbaky’s door.
“That’s who Deah was — he gave without thinking twice about it. I want people to know that about him — he was such a kind person,” AbdelBaky said.
His voice trailed off. It’s been barely a day since Barakat, Barakat’s 21-year-old wife Yusor Mohammad, and her 19-year-old sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were shot and killed at the Barakats’ home in Chapel Hill.
Barakat worked tirelessly to raise money in the hope of providing dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Mohammad brought young women together in her community, forging strong friendships while she also focused on school. Mohammad Abu-Salha was a talented artist.
It was so hard, AbdelBaky said, to conceive of so much life suddenly snuffed out.
Police said Wednesday that “an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking” may have been a factor in the killings, but some social media users are questioning whether the victims’ faith might have also been a motivation.
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Mariem Masmoudi’s brother shot hoops with Barakat this week.
She said Yusor Mohammad was planning to get some girlfriends together this week to hang out, talk about life and discuss the importance of living a just life according to religious principle.
It saddens her immensely when she thinks about the optimism all three shared, suddenly snuffed out.
“There was so much love and so much joy and happiness,” Masmoudi said.
The Barakats “were really an adorable young couple. I don’t know how to say it … they really radiated this kind of light. They radiated humility, kindness, love. You couldn’t help but be inspired by them.”
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.
