What to know about the shooting of 3 Palestinian students in Burlington, Vermont
On Saturday an unidentified gunman shot and injured three Palestinian students in Burlington, VT. By Sunday afternoon, organizations around the nation were calling for it to be investigated as a possible hate crime, CNN reports.
The victims have been identified, though police say they have asked that their identities not be shared, per Burlington Free Press . Two of the victims are in stable condition, while the third is being treated for more serious injuries.
The shooting comes amidst news of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the group that composes Palestine’s ruling government.
What happened in Vermont?
According to the Burlington Free Press , the students were walking en route to the home of one of their family members for dinner when they were confronted by the shooter.
Of the confrontation police said, “Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot,” CNN reports.
Per the Burlington Free Press , in a release, police said they received calls “that a person or persons had been shot in the vicinity of North Prospect Street in Burlington. Officers arrived to find two injured people at the location and a third injured person at a second location a short distance away.”
As of Sunday night, the shooter is still at large and has not been identified. Victims were able to tell police the shooter was a white man.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has offered a $10,000 reward “for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators of a shooting Saturday targeting three Palestinian university students in Burlington, Vermont.”
Why is the shooting being investigated as a hate-crime?
According to The New York Times , the students were speaking a mix of Arabic and English, with two of them wearing a kaffiyeh — a traditional Arab headdress that has come to symbolize Palestinian identity — in the lead-up to the shooting.
In a statement , CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “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 American Jewish Committee echoed this sentiment in a post on X.
We are horrified by the shooting attack against three Palestinian college students in Burlington, VT.We hope for a quick recovery for the victims and the swift apprehension of the perpetrator.
We urge law enforcement to investigate this act as a possible hate crime.— American Jewish Committee November 26, 2023
Jon Murad, the chief of the Burlington police said he has been in touch with federal authorities on the chance it was deemed a hate crime by investigators.
“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” said Murad, per the New York Times .
Murad also encouraged the public to refrain from forming conclusions without more reliable information.
