IntraHealth International is deeply saddened by the killing of three students in our Chapel Hill community this week. Two were on their way to becoming health workers, already deciding to dedicate their lives to improving the lives of others.

Deah Barakat was a second-year student in the University of North Carolina’s School of Dentistry. According to the news coverage, he had volunteered with a charity providing emergency dental care to children in Palestine, was planning to volunteer in Turkey this summer to provide dental care to Syrian refugees most in need, and just last month he handed out free dental supplies in Durham, NC. His wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, was set to begin dental studies at the university in the fall. Her sister, Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a student at NC State University.

The world needs more young people with the passion and drive to care for others. This is a tremendous loss to us all. IntraHealth offers our heartfelt condolences to their families and to our neighbors.

Read more:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/us/muslim-student-shootings-north-carolina.html?_r=0
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chapel-hill-shooting-three-young-muslims-gunned-down-in-north-carolina-at-their-family-home-10037734.html
• http://rt.com/usa/231339-muslim-family-killed-carolina/