The three people who were shot to death in a North Carolina condominium Tuesday were honours students and included a couple who just married two months ago, authorities said today.

Deah Barakat, 23, a second-year student in UNC's School of Dentistry, married Yusor Mohammad, 21, in December, and Mohammad planned to begin her dental studies in the fall, authorities said. Her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a sophomore at North Carolina State University.

Gunshots were reported after 5 p.m. in the Finley Forest condominiums in Chapel Hill, east of the University of North Carolina campus, police said.

Namee Barakat, father of victim Deah Barakat, told ABC News from his home in Raleigh that his son was "always smiling." He described his son and daughter-in-law, who met as undergrads at N.C. State, as "bright, intelligent, thoughtful, generous and loving."

He said Abu-Salah, from Raleigh, was visiting her sister.

A spokesman from the North Carolina State University said Abu-Salha was majoring in design and on the dean's list for the fall 2014 semester. The university spokesman said Barakat and Mohammad were alumnae of the school.

"It is with great sadness I share with you the news that the three victims of a shooting yesterday evening near the UNC Chapel Hill campus include a current and two former NC State students," NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson said in a statement.

Barakat graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in business administration in May 2013. Yusor Mohammad graduated cum laude with a B.S. in biological sciences in December 2014, school officials said. (www.abcnews.go.com)