By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon | New York Post
Three Palestinian college students were shot Saturday while walking to a family dinner in Vermont — the victims of a horrific bias attack, according to authorities and Arab-American officials.
At least two of the men, including an Ivy League student at Brown University, were wearing traditional Keffiyeh scarves when they were wounded, said Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission in the United Kingdom, in a post on X on Sunday.
Zomlot said the three Palestinian men, identified by relatives as Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnann Abdalhamid, “were shot last night on their way to a family dinner in Burlington.
“Their crime? Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh,” he said. “They are critically injured.”
The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee said the victims are all 20 years old and identified Awartani as a student at Brown, Abdalhamid at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Ahmad at Trinity University.
“All three victims survived the initial shooting, however, two of them are currently in ICU and one of the students has sustained very critical and serious injuries,” the ADC said in a statement.
Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement Sunday that he had reached out to federal investigators in the case.
“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. “And I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it’s proven.
“But now that the victims are safe and receiving medical care our next priority is identifying, locating and apprehending the suspect,” the chief said.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott also said he has made the state’s “full support” to Burlington authorities, calling the shooting “a tragedy.
“I urge Vermonters to unite to help the community heal and not let this incident incite more hate or divisiveness,” Scott said. “We must come together in these difficult times. It is the only way to put a stop to the violence we’re seeing.”
The families of the three victims issued their own statement, which was posted on X by the Institute for Middle East Understanding.
“As parents, we are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot in Burlington,” the post 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. We need to ensure that our children are protected and this heinous crime is not repeated.”
The three men were walking along North Prospect Street around 6:30 p.m. when they were shot, according to WPTZ-TV News.
Police said the gunman fired off at least four rounds before fleeing.
The victims were rushed to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where two were listed in stable condition and the third in serious condition, while the shooter remains on the loose.
WPTZ did not identify the victims as Palestinian, but Zomlot and Arab-American outlets and organizations said they were and denounced the incident as a targeted attack against Palestinians as the Israel-Hamas war rages.
“After reviewing the initial information provided we have reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab,” the ADC said.
It did not identify any of the victims as Yale students, despite Zomlot’s post on X.
The ADC said the students were speaking Arabic when the gunman yelled at them and opened fire.
“We are praying for a full recovery of the victims and will stand by to support the families in any way that is needed,” said ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub in a statement Sunday.
“The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent,” Ayoub added.
The Oct. 7 sneak terror attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas terrorists — and the subsequent Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip — has sparked an outbreak of antisemitic and occasionally anti-Arab violence in the US.
US college campuses in particular have become a hotbed of unrest, including Ivy League schools.
On Saturday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters swamped Columbus Circle in Manhattan, at one point dragging a burning Israeli flag down the street while denouncing the Jewish state.
Last week, a Queens public school teacher was forced to lock herself in a classroom as a mob of pro-Palestinian students hunted for her over a pro-Israel Facebook post — an incident that New York Mayor Eric Adams called a “vile show of antisemitism.”
Last month, a Brooklyn man also was allegedly beaten by a group of pro-Israeli men after yelling, “Free Palestine!” according to a report by WPIX-TV News.
The Burlington Police Department in Vermont did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post regarding Saturday’s shooting.
