3 Palestinian students injured in Vermont shootings, civil rights group says

Three Palestinian students were injured after a shooting in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday evening, according to an Arab-American civil rights group.

Burlington Police say they responded to reports of shootings at around 6:30 p.m., according to WPTZ.

Authorities say they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds when they arrived and found a third victim a short distance away.

No shooter has been identified yet, according to police.

The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) identified the victims as three 20-year-old Palestinian students who had gathered to enjoy Thanksgiving break. They say the three students attend Haverford University, Brown University and Trinity University.

Police have not confirmed the nationality of the victims or publicly identified them.

The ADC said in a statement that they are calling on law enforcement in Vermont to investigate this shooting as a hate crime and that they have reached out to the Department of Justice and the FBI to also call on an immediate hate crimes investigation.

“We are praying for a full recovery of the victims, and will support the families in any way that is needed. 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. The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent," said ADC Executive Director Abed Ayoub.

The victims were transported to UVM Medical Center by authorities. ADC said two of them were in the ICU and that one has "very critical and serious injuries."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the shooting.

“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,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We hope our reward will result in information leading to an arrest in this case.”

Police say people are urged to avoid the North Prospect Street area. The investigation is ongoing.