N.C. shooting victim's father: Obama's condemnation welcome, but late

President Obama on Friday condemned the murder of three young Muslims in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police say they were shot to death by a neighbor, although the motive is in dispute.

Search warrants show that alleged shooter Craig Stephen Hicks had an arsenal of at least 13 shotguns, rifles and handguns and a stockpile of ammunition in his home.

The president said in a statement, "No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like or how they worship."

While there was gratitude for the president's remarks in Raleigh, there was also a feeling that they came too late.

"I was hoping that he would have done that statement ... maybe yesterday, " said Namee Barakat, whose son, Deah Barakat, was one of the victims. "It would have made it a little easier on our family."

Police and the Department of Justice's civil rights division are continuing to investigate the shootings from last Tuesday. The police initially said the motive was a dispute about a parking space outside the building where the suspect lives.

But the global outcry, including more than two million tweets, is showing that many have already judged this as a hate crime. Supporters held Friday prayers in front of the White House in memory of the three slain Muslim-Americans.

Razan Abu-Salha was a student at NC State. Deah Barakat was in his second year of dental school. His new wife, Yusor, was also going to become a dentist.

"I'm glad our community stood by each other in a time like this, said Haneen Ahmad, who was a friend of all three victims.

The Jordanian ambassador to the U.S. visited a Raleigh mosque Friday to offer his condolences, as have many local families. The Abu-Salha sisters were of Jordanian descent.