Police arrest suspect in possible 'hate-motivated' shooting of three Palestinian students

Kinnan Abdalhamid's family feared for his safety where he grew up in the West Bank. So they sent him to the United States.

But on Saturday, the 20-year-old and two of his friends, Hisham Awartani and Tahseen Aliahmad, both also 20, were shot in Burlington, Vermont, where they had gathered for a Thanksgiving celebration.

"We always thought (the West Bank) could be more of a risk in terms of safety and sending him here would be the right decision," his uncle, Radi Tamimi, said during a news conference Monday. "We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here."

Authorities arrested Jason Eaton, 48, on Sunday and identified him as the suspect in the shooting of the three college students of Palestinian descent. He is being held as authorities investigate whether it was a hate crime.

Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apprehended Eaton after they encountered him at the shooting location, police said. He pleaded not guilty to three attempted second-degree murder charges during a court appearance Monday.

Awartani goes to Brown University in Rhode Island, Abdalhamid attends Haverford College student in Pennsylvania and Aliahmad is a student at Connecticut's Trinity College.

The three were shot at around 6:25 p.m. on Saturday while visiting the home of Rich Price, Awartani's uncle and a Burlington resident, according to the Burlington Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. They were spending the Thanksgiving holiday together on Prospect Street near the University of Vermont's campus.

Police have said they are investigating to determine whether the crime was motivated by race. Abdalhamid told police he is a Palestinian American and Palestinian advocate. He said he traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a recent march in support of Palestinians, where he appeared on CBS News, according to an arrest affidavit for Eaton.

Price said he has been with his nephew and friends constantly since Saturday.

"I'm blown away by their resilience, by their good humor in the face of these difficult times," Price said.

Eaton appeared in court Monday through a webcam and stared into the camera as he stated his name. He is being represented by a public defender.

The Vermont Office of the Defender General declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY on Monday morning. Eaton's mother also declined to comment in a text to USA TODAY on Monday. She told the Daily Beast he was a "very religious person" and that she couldn't "believe he would do something like this."

Evidence collected during a search of Eaton's apartment near the shooting, along with interviews and neighborhood canvass, led police to believe Eaton was the shooter.

"This person, we have full probable cause to believe, committed this horrible, horrible crime," Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said at a news conference on Monday. "Our next step will be building that case to make certain that it is as strong as possible when we – so that we can deliver it to the state's attorney."

"This was a terrifying and hateful incident at a time of global conflict and vulnerability. I reach out today with my heart and soul full of care, love, and support for our beloved Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students," said Haverford University President Wendy Raymond in a message to the college community on Monday.

Raymond said the college is providing support for its students during this difficult time, including academic flexibility and increased security presence on campus in addition to other private community events.

The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank identified the three victims as school alumni, according to a Facebook post.

"I believe the families fear that this was motivated by hate, that these boys, these young men were targeted because they were Arabs, that they were wearing keffiyehs. I think that is our fear," Price said.

Tamimi said: "It's hard to imagine in this time and everything that's happening that it was just a random act. It doesn't feel that way, but we are absolutely willing to wait to find out and let due process take its course."

What happened in the Vermont shooting?

A white male with a gray beard approached the trio while walking down the street and discharged at least four rounds at them without speaking, according to the arrest affidavit for Eaton.

The gunman shot Aliahmad in the chest and Abdalhamid in the leg, the Free Press reported. They are in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery, officials said. CNN reported Monday evening that one of the students was released from the hospital but did not name him due to safety concerns.

But Awartani suffered a serious spinal injury. His uncle said Monday the 20-year-old has a long recovery ahead of him.

After the attack, the suspect fled on foot. A witness told police he heard at least four gunshots and found the victims outside. He heard someone enter the common area of his apartment building and climb the stairs, court documents show.

"I've been waiting for you," Eaton told authorities after they arrived at his home, per the affidavit. He then asked for an attorney.

A search of Eaton's residence turned up a firearm.

"He appeared very nervous," Murad said during the news conference. "He was shaking."

'Hate-motivated crime'

The victims wore keffiyahs, traditional Palestinian neck scarves, and were speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, leading authorities to investigate it as a possible hate crime. Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident, police said.

"These are three life felonies," said Chittenden County State Attorney Sarah George. "And although we do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement, I do want to be clear that there is no question this was a hateful act."

Burlington police have not yet identified a motive. If the shooting is identified as a hate crime, they will involve federal agencies to continue the investigation, Murad previously said.

Eaton was recently fired after working for less than a year at the broker-dealer CUSO Financial Services, the company confirmed to USA TODAY Monday evening. His employment was terminated on Nov. 8.

"We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate," spokesperson Jeff Eller said. "We have no further comment."

Police believe Eaton came to the Burlington area recently from Syracuse, New York, according to Murad.

“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 on Sunday. “The fact is that we don’t yet know as much as we want to right now. But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less."

During Monday's news conference, Murad said computers at Eaton's home will be examined to determine whether the attack was motivated by hate.

"There have been things that people have left, social media ghosts and things online that have given us the opportunity to impute motive," Murad said. "We do not currently have that and what we do have I'm not prepared to discuss at this stage of the investigation."

The FBI based in Albany, New York, said it is awaiting evidence that the shooting was a hate crime to begin its investigation. "If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate," the bureau said in a statement.

Biden 'horrified' to learn about the shooting

President Joe Biden received updates about the ongoing investigation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Monday.

“These students were taking part in a uniquely American tradition: gathering with family and loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving,” Jean-Pierre said. “They should be back in school with their classmates, not in a hospital.”

Biden said in a statement that he and first lady Jill Biden were "horrified" to learn about the shooting.

"While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America," he said.

Biden said he spoke with the mayor of Burlington on Monday and offered his support.

Organizations call for hate crime investigation

In a statement released on Sunday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said after reviewing initial reports it had "reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab." The organization called on the FBI, Justice Department and local authorities in Vermont to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.

"Given the information collected and provided, it is clear that the hate was a motivating factor in this shooting, and we call on law enforcement to investigate it as such," American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee National Executive Director Abed Ayoub said. "The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, "It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere."

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and a Democrat, said in a statement: "It is deeply disturbing that three Palestinian students were shot last night in Vermont in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime."

"While we await additional information about the motivation for the shooting, it remains important that people of goodwill unequivocally denounce the startling rise of anti-Arab hate and Islamophobia in America," he said.

On Sunday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.

“Due to the unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate and violence we have witnessed in recent weeks, local, state and national law enforcement authorities must investigate a possible bias motive for the shooting of these three young men,” the civil rights group's National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

Reports of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bias in the U.S. rose dramatically after Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel's ensuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip that killed 1,200 Israelis and more than 13,000 Palestinians respectively. CAIR received 1,283 requests for help and reports of anti-Muslim bias between Nov. 4 and the beginning of the war, a 216% increase over the previous year, according to a Nov. 9 news release.

A four-day cease-fire deal brokered with the help of U.S., Egyptian and Qatari officials saw the temporary pause of fighting between Israel and Hamas on Friday. The deal also saw Hamas agree to release 50 of at least 240 hostages taken into Gaza on Oct. 7 in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Fourteen Israeli and three foreign national hostages of Hamas were released in the latest exchange on Sunday. Israel said it initiated the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners. Eleven more hostages are set for release on Monday.

Israel said it was open to an extension of the truce by one day for every 10 hostages released.

Incident draws attention to crime in Vermont

Beyond tensions about the war overseas, Saturday's shooting also thrust a more local problem into the spotlight: violent crime in Vermont, which by some metrics is rising. 

The city of Burlington reported five homicides in 2022, the most in decades. The uptick was consistent with a pandemic-era increase in homicide rates in Vermont and across the country. 

Concerns about gun violence in Burlington have emerged in stark contrast to the safety that its residents experienced in pre-pandemic years, according to the Free Press. Nikolas Kerest, a U.S. attorney for the district of Vermont, told the Free Press last year that state laws making it easier to obtain illegal firearms in Vermont, compared to neighboring states, are part of the problem. 

Miro Weinberger, the city’s mayor, released a plan in January to address the spike in gun violence.

“All of the different issues and forces that resulted in the gun violence of the last three years are not fully understood,” the plan says, adding, “the possibility of a resurgence in gunfire is not remote.”

The state’s Republican governor, Phil Scott, said just last week – days before Saturday’s shooting took place – that he plans to introduce a package of public safety reforms in the next legislative session.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her by email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.