• Police chief believes incident in Vermont was ‘hate-motivated crime’
• The suspect fired at least four rounds that wounded three people
• White House says Biden ‘horrified’ by shooting

NEW YORK: Police said on Monday a man has been arrested in connection with the Burlington, Vermont shooting of three university students of Palestinian descent, as authorities investigated what they believe was a “hate-motivated crime.”

Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said the suspect, 48-year-old Jason Eaton, was arrested on Sunday and was expected to appear before a judge on Monday.

Evidence collected during a search of Eaton’s apartment, outside of which the shooting took place on Saturday, as well as additional data collected “gave investigators and prosecutors probable cause to believe that Mr Eaton perpetrated the shooting,” Murad said in a statement.

Police had earlier described the shooter as “a white man with a handgun.” “Without speaking,” police said, “he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot.” The incident occurred amid high tensions, and occasional violence, on college campuses and elsewhere in the United States over the unrest in the Middle East.

A police statement said two of the victims were in stable condition, and the third suffered “much more serious injuries.” It said two are US citizens and one a legal resident.

While there has been no conclusion of the shooter’s motive, the police confirmed that two of the young men were wearing keffiyehs, the traditional black and white Palestinian scarf.

“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Murad said in a statement.

The families identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island; Kinnan Abdel Hamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmed, who attends Trinity College in Connecticut.

The White House said Monday that “The president and the first lady were horrified,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “These students were taking part in a uniquely American tradition, gathering with family and loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving. They should be back in school with their classmates, not in a hospital room.”

All three victims were graduates of the Ramallah Friends School, a private Quaker school in the West Bank, and are now attending different universities in the northeastern United States, according to a statement from a spokesman for the victims’ families.

“As parents,” it read, “we are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot…. We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice.”

The Arab American Anti-Discrimi­nation Committee said, “We have reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.” It called on Vermont authorities to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.

Bernie Sanders, the independent US senator from Vermont and a past presidential candidate, called the attack “shocking and deeply upsetting,” adding, “Hate has no place here, or anywhere.”

The shooting came as civil rights groups have warned of a rise in hate crimes against Arab and Muslim Americans — as well as growing anti-Semitism.

Last month, a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death in Illinois and his mother was wounded. A 71-year-old suspect has pleaded not guilty.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2023