One of the Palestinian students shot in Vermont on Saturday will likely never walk again after having a bullet lodged in his spine.
Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed were visiting Awartani’s grandmother’s house when they were shot on Saturday afternoon, allegedly by Jason J. Eaton, a 48-year-old former financial adviser.
Police say he confronted the students after emerging from a porch, shooting them all without saying anything about his motive.
He was arrested on Sunday at his home, and is said to have told police: ‘I’ve been waiting for you.’
Eaton today pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder.
The students were speaking in Arabic and English and two of them were wearing keffiyehs, leading police to believe it was a hate-motivated attack.
Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed wearing keffiyeh scarves and speaking Arabic when they were shot on Saturday night
Jason J. Eaton, 48, is in custody. He is accused of shooting the three Palestinian students on Saturday
But prosecutors said today there is not yet enough evidence to charge Eaton with a hate crime, and that they do not yet know what his motive was.
President Biden spoke with Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger today and later released a statement to condemn the attack.
Awartani’s relatives told NPR earlier today: ‘The doctors are currently saying it’s unlikely he’ll be able to use his legs again.
‘He’s confronting a life of disability, a potentially irreversible change to his life and what it means for his future.’
The bullet pierced his spine and is now lodged there. Doctors say operating to remove it would be too dangerous.
His family, who live in the West Bank, sent him to the US because they thought he would be safer here.
Eaton is a 48-year-old former financial adviser and part-time farmer who describes himself as a ‘radical’ libertarian on the ‘ADHD spectrum’.
His social media pages are largely private, but hint at a disillusionment towards America.
Hisham Awartani shared a hospital bed photo on Instagram. His family say he is unlikely to move his legs ever again
Eaton appeared before a judge at a virtual court hearing today where he pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murder
Eaton’s shocked mother Mary Reed told The Daily Beast he has had his ‘struggles’ in the past but that nothing indicated he was capable of such violence.
She said he is a ‘very religious’ person, but had seemed normal when she spent Thanksgiving with him on Thursday, two days before the shooting.
‘He, like all of us, thinks the world is a mess. He is a spiritual person,’ she said.
‘Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life but he is such a kind and loving person.
‘I am just shocked by the whole thing,’ she said.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, surrounded by police and city officials, speaks at a news conference in Burlington
Eaton is a 48-year-old former financial adviser and part-time farmer who describes himself as a ‘radical’ libertarian on the ‘ADHD spectrum’. His social media pages are largely private, but hint at a disillusionment towards America
Eaton’s mother said he is a ‘very religious’ person but had seemed normal on Thanksgiving
His mother said he previously worked as an assistant in an office, but has bounced around different jobs.
They spent Thanksgiving together on Thursday and it was one of the best ‘in years’, she said.
Two of the men were in stable condition and the other suffered ‘much more serious injuries,’ Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement Sunday.
The three, all age 20, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victim’s relatives when they were confronted.
‘Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled,’ Murad said.
‘All three victims were struck, two in their torsos and one in the lower extremities.’
The victims are all of Palestinian descent. Two are U.S. citizens and the third is a legal resident. Two of the men were wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, Murad said.
‘In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime. And I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it’s proven,’ Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said.
‘The fact is that we don’t yet know as much as we want to right now,’ Murad added.
‘But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less.’
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee released a statement Sunday saying that the victims were Palestinian American college students and that there is ‘reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.’
First responders loading one of the victims into an ambulance after Saturday’s shooting
The FBI in Albany, New York, posted a statement late Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, saying the bureau is actively investigating the shooting with the Burlington Police Department, the ATF and other federal, state and local agencies.
The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and would continue to receive law enforcement updates.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction of the person or people responsible for the shootings.
The Institute for Middle East Understanding posted a statement on X that the institute said was from the victims’ families.
‘We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children,’ the statement said. ‘We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice.’
Ramallah Friends School posted a statement on Facebook saying the three young men were graduates of the private school in the West Bank.
‘While we are relieved to know that they are alive, we remain uncertain about their condition and hold them in the light,’ the school said. ‘We stand united in hope and support for their well-being during this challenging time.’
In response to the shooting, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraged people to ‘unequivocally denounce the startling rise of anti-Arab hate and Islamophobia in America.’
‘No one should ever be targeted for their ethnicity or religious affiliation in our country,’ the New York Democrat said in the statement posted on X. ‘We will not let hatred win.’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, also denounced the shooting.
‘It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation,’ Sanders said in a statement.
Gov. Phil Scott called the shooting a tragedy, calling on the state’s residents to unite and ‘not let this incident incite more hate or divisiveness.’
The Vermont-New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace, which has urged an end to the Israel-Hamas war, released a statement saying it was ‘appalled by the shooting.’
‘We are in solidarity with the students, their families and all those affected by this clear act of hate,’ the organization said Sunday. ‘We are in solidarity with all Palestinian people in occupied Palestine, around the world, and here in Vermont — and we are committed to creating a Vermont that is safe and welcoming for all.’
The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy organization for Jewish people worldwide, also said via X it was ‘horrified’ by the attack and urged ‘law enforcement to investigate this act as a possible hate crime.’
Last month, an Illinois landlord was charged with a hate crime after being accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother in Chicago. Police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith.