Terror attack at UNC

A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, an Iranian native, is charged with nine counts 0f attempted murder in an admitted terror attack on the UNC campus. He drove a car through the Pit and attempted to run down anyone present. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. (It's hard to get a car to the Pit, so accelerating to lethal speeds is very difficult.)

Based on comments made after his arrest, Poarch said Taheri-azar acted to "avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world."

(Assumption here: he doesn't mean deaths of Muslims caused by other Muslims.)

The American Heritage Dictionary defines terrorism as "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." The statements by the criminal indicate this is a terrorist attack, and should be classified as such. Furthermore, if North Carolina has a hate crime law, these attacks should also be treated as hate crimes.

I can guarantee sentiments against the war in Iraq are stronger on the UNC campus than in the state in general, so it's strange why he'd choose the Pit over, say, a flea market somewhere else in the state.

It's cliched, but he was called calm, well-spoken, not the type to do this.

If you're in the vicinity, there will be an anti-terrorism rally today in the Pit from 11 AM to 1 PM. Show your opposition to terrorism!