Warrants: N.C. shooting suspect had 13 guns, cache of ammo

DURHAM, N.C. - Search warrants show the suspect arrested in the shooting deaths of three Muslim college students in North Carolina had an arsenal of at least a dozen firearms in his home, along with a large stash of ammunition.

The warrants filed Friday list items recovered by Chapel Hill police from the condominium of Craig Stephen Hicks. They state that Hicks had three handguns, along with several rifles and shotguns. He was also arrested with another handgun in his possession, according to police reports. He also allegedly had numerous loaded magazines and cases of ammunition.

Hicks, 46, has been charged with three counts of first degree murdering for allegedly shooting his neighbors, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19.

Why Hicks may have targeted these particular victims is under investigation. Police have said he was involved in an ongoing dispute with them over parking -- although other neighbors have told reporters he argued with many of his neighbors about parking in their condo complex.

An employee of a towing company told CBS affiliate WRAL that Hicks had called to have people towed so many times the company barred drivers from responding to his calls. Christopher Lafreniere also said that in 2013 he was having an argument with a driver over a tow at the Finley Forest complex and Hicks came out of his apartment with a handgun to say that he had called police.

Imad Ahmad, who lived with Barakat until the latter married Mohammad in December, told the station that Hicks complained about once a month that they were using a visitor's spot as well as their assigned spot.

"He would come over to the door, knock on the door and then have a gun on his hip saying, 'You guys need to not park here,'" said Ahmad, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "He did it again after they got married."

Ahmad told the station that he and Barakat complained to the property manager at the Finley Forest complex, who reportedly told them to call police if Hicks bothered them again. Finley Forest did not return a call from 48 Hours' Crimesider seeking comment on the parking issues.

On his Facebook page, Hicks reportedly identified himself as a "gun-toting" atheist. At a news conference on Thursday, an attorney for Hicks' wife said that Hicks was "a champion of Second Amendment rights."