Accused shooter of Muslim students had earlier run-ins with neighbors, wearing gun on his hip

Women mourn during a vigil for three people who were killed at a condominium near UNC-Chapel Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Craig Stephen Hicks appeared in court Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths Tuesday of Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. (AP Photo/The Herald-Sun, Bernard Thomas) (The Associated Press)

Suzann Barakat, front right, addresses members of the media on the death of her brother Deah Shaddy Barakat as her parents Namee and Layla Barakat, left, embrace behind her during a media availability in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. Deah, his wife Yusor Mohammad and her sister Razan Mohanned Abu-Salha were killed in a triple homicide on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Robert Willett) MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

Karen Hicks speaks at a news conference about her husband, Craig Stephen Hicks, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Craig Stephen Hicks appeared in court Wednesday on three counts of first-degree murder, stemming from the deaths of three Muslims at a condominium complex near UNC-Chapel Hill. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Harry Lynch) (The Associated Press)

The North Carolina man accused of killing three Muslim students in a dispute over parking spaces had earlier run-ins with his neighbors, sometimes while wearing a handgun on his hip.

Police are still trying to determine whether religious hatred played any role in Tuesday's shootings, which shocked the bucolic college town of Chapel Hill and left many residents grappling to make sense of the crime.

They have charged 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks with three counts of first-degree murder.

Neighbors said Wednesday that Hicks always seemed angry and confrontational. His ex-wife said he was obsessed with the shooting-rampage movie "Falling Down," and showed "no compassion at all" for other people.