A vigil for three slain Muslim students drew thousands to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wednesday night. The candlelit crowd filled a sunken brick courtyard on campus known as The Pit, where students, faculty, friends and family members alike mourned the deaths of Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

“We want the legacy of these three wonderful students to be a legacy of hope and understanding,” university Chancellor Carol L. Folt told the crowd at the vigil. “I will do all that I can in my power to help this peaceful and positive movement go forward.”

Friends and relatives of the slain students took turns sharing memories. “They were three larger-than-life winners,” said Ali Sajjad, president of the Muslim Student Association at North Carolina State University.

Barakat’s brother, Farris Barakat, shared Folt’s message and asked the crowd of mourners for solidarity. “I plead that you live in their legacy, that you share in the good you know of them. Do not fight fire with fire,” he said.

Deah Barakat, 23, was a second-year student at UNC’s School of Dentistry who married Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, a prospective dental student, in late December. Her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, was a sophomore at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The latter was visiting the married couple at the Finley Forest condominiums in Chapel Hill where all three were fatally shot Tuesday, according to ABC News.

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested on triple murder charges and is being held without bail. Police are still investigating a motive. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime was motivated by an ongoing neighbor dispute over parking,” Chapel Hill police said in a statement, according to ABC News. “Hicks is cooperating with investigators, and more information may be released at a later time.”

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