Three Palestinian students were shot and injured while attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering near the University of Vermont over the weekend.
Two of the men are in stable condition and the other suffered “much more serious injuries.”
Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said the shooting happened before 6:30 p.m. Saturday and police were looking for the shooter.
“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 American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) identified the three Palestinian men as Hisham Awartani of Brown University, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford College, and Tahseen Ahmed of Trinity College.
According to police, the three men were visiting a home of one of the victim’s relatives and were walking when they were met by a white man with a handgun.
“My deepest condolences go out to the victims and their families,” Murad said in a news release. “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.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced it was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shooting.
