Watch: Press conference on shooting of Palestinian Americans

Representatives for the families of three men of Palestinian descent who were shot Saturday near the UVM campus are expected to attend a noon press conference Monday in downtown Burlington.

Mayor Miro Weinberger, Chief of Police Jon Murad, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George and U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Nikolas Kerest are also expected to attend the event at Burlington City Hall.

The men, all age 20, were identified as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmed. 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.

Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and the third is in the country with legal permission. Two of the men were wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, Murad said.

Earlier Monday, James J. Eaton, the suspect in the shooting, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in Chittenden County Criminal Court.

The victims’ families and and other advocates are urging police and prosecutors to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.