“He was all about doing good,” said Deah’s lifelong friend Amir Jabr. “We’ve lost that good.”
Deah, who was shot and killed at the Finley Forest Condominium complex on Tuesday, was a second-year dental student at the UNC School of Dentistry and the founder of the fundraising effort Syrian Dental Relief, a group aimed at providing quality dental care to people in Syrian refugee camps.
“He was one of those people that just had that fire, and he loved what he did. He loved it so much,” said Maryam Ahmed, a close friend of Deah’s.
Jabr said Deah was strong-willed and driven to succeed in his dental career.
“He made a decision to go to dental school his junior year of undergrad, and by then it was kind of too late to apply,” Jabr said. “He did everything he had to do — he took night classes, he practiced the (Dental Admission Test) all by himself and he found a way to apply — just because he wanted it that bad.”
Asad Ahmad, a friend who played basketball with Deah, said he had a calming presence but that his passion was tangible.
“When you talked to him, his eyes were always really intense. He was a very fiery guy, but at the same time he always kept a level head,” he said. “People really loved the guy.”
Abdul Salem, who had been a friend of Deah’s for several years, said he was the type of person who was the first to know everyone’s big news, good or bad.
