Three Palestinian students shot and wounded in Vermont, police say | Vermont | The Guardian
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Victims reportedly were wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh and speaking in Arabic when they were attacked in Burlington
Three college students described as being of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded on Saturday evening in Burlington, Vermont, on their way to a family dinner.
The head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, Husam Zomlot, identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ahmed and Kinnan Abdalhamid, undergraduate students at Brown, Haverford and Trinity. Zomlot said on X - formerly known as Twitter - that each of the victims was wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh when they were attacked, though authorities have stopped short of publicly discussing a possible motive for the triple shooting.
Meanwhile, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee added in a separate post on X: "We have reason to believe that the shooting was motivated by the three [victims] being Arab.
"The three victims were wearing a kuffiyeh and speaking Arabic. A man shouted and harassed the victims."
According to Seven Days Vermont, local authorities have only said three people were shot near the University of Vermont campus just before 6.30pm Saturday. The victims were taken to the University of Vermont medical center for treatment.
As of Sunday, police had not announced any suspects or arrests. Authorities had asked the public to avoid the area.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (Cair) National is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont issued a statement calling news of the shooting, "shocking and deeply upsetting".
The families of the three victims issued a joint statement.
"We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime," said the statement. "We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice."
CBS news local affiliate Channel Three confirmed all three shooting victims are of Palestinian descent but did not name them.
The Ramallah Friends School issued a statement on Facebook naming the victims and describing them as graduates of the Palestinian high school.
"We extend our thoughts and prayers to them and their families for a full recovery, especially considering the severity of injuries - as Hisham has been shot in the back, Tahseen in the chest, and Kinnan with minor injuries," the post said. "While we are relieved to know that they are alive, we remain uncertain about their condition and hold them in the light."
Basil Awartani posted on X that his cousin Hisham Awartani is one of the shooting victims and alleged the attack was a hate crime. He asserted that the victims were targeted for speaking Arabic and wearing kuffiyehs.
"My cousin Hisham has been shot in the back while walking with his friends in Burlington for simply wearing kuffiyehs and speaking Arabic," Basil Awartani wrote. "Dangerous performative rhetoric from US pundits and politicians as well as constant dehumanization of Palestinians has a real life cost."
The FBI is aware of the shooting and said the agency will investigate if local investigation uncovers any possible federal violation. The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation and will continue to monitor it as the investigation is ongoing.
The allegations about the shooting's circumstances come amid a reported rise of Islamophobia and antisemitism in the US after the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza in October.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) reported receiving 1,283 requests for help and reports of bias from the beginning of October to early November, an increase of 216% compared to 2022.
The Anti-Defamation League reported a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents compared to 2022. And the New York police department reported a 214% in reported hate crimes against Jews in October.
The Los Angeles police department was investigating a protest outside the home of American Israel Public Affairs Committee president Michael Tuchin on Thanksgiving as a possible hate crime. Authorities said demonstrators set off smoke bombs and spattered fake blood on the property.
Saturday's shooting occurred a little more than a week after a man reportedly selling Muslim goods outside a mosque in Rhode Island's capital city, Providence, was shot and wounded.
Police haven't given any updates since the shooting about possible suspects or a potential motive, leading to a sense of unease for the local Muslim community, the Providence Journal reported.
Zomlot on Saturday alluded to the killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, in Illinois in October. Authorities accused Al-Fayoume's family's landord of stabbing the child to death - and wounding his mother - because they were Muslims.
"The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop," Zomlot wrote on X. "Palestinians everywhere need protection."
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This is crazy and has to stop.
though authorities have stopped short of publicly discussing a possible motive for the triple shooting.
If the students were Jewish, would you bother to put up the story?
It seems that your inability to actually read and understand the articles I post has overwhelmed what passes as intelligence.
Are you suggesting that I'm anti-Semitic? Not a good road to go down.
Many have been looking to shift blame ever since Charlottesville.
That comment is totally uncalled for. I have known of Kavika's positive feelings about Israel and Jews for many years and he is a staunch supporter of Israel with not one trace of antisemitism. In fact he recently moved to a place in Florida that I bet has many Jewish residents where I'm sure he is entirely comfortable.
Thank you, Buzz.
The Palestinians supporters started the violence by tearing down the hostage posters, then trapping Jewish students in a college club room, and finally killing an 80 year old man at a rally. This was only going to get worse with the Jewish supporters slapping back. It's hardly right, but there you have it.
I one hundred percent agree with you on this, Perrie.
However, what we will see is a large left wing smear campaign that will essentially say "See, this is proof that anti Muslim activity is a greater threat in this country", of course, without acknowledging that they and their supporters have brought it to this level of violence by the hateful propaganda they have been spewing for almost 2 months on a daily basis.
It's sad it came to this, but, yeah...there you have it.
My comment ''This is crazy and has to stop'' is directed to both sides, Jews and Palestinians.
That said tearing down a poster is a far cry for shooting three people.
If an eye for an eye is the rule of the day in the US then the guy who killed an 8-year-old boy because he was Muslim and attacked his Mother for the same reason is the lighter of the fire.
Or the Muslim physician who was stabbed to death in Houston while sitting on a bench in her complex. They are not sure if it was a hate crime. What to take some odds on that?
So it's an eye for an eye. Great solution.
It's an age old solution, how else did the eurotrash get all of your stuff?
It's a circle of vengeance that most humans don't have the ability to stop, sad commentary on our species.
Hate is sold at a deep discount and comes with a free chicken ... Love cannot be bought.
"The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop," Zomlot wrote on X. "Palestinians everywhere need protection."
You only seem to care about what happens to Muslims. Don't Jews everywhere need protection also?
Can you find any article/comment/suggestion that I have said/insinuated/stated that Jews don't need protection, if so post them or quit your thinly veiled suggestion that I'm anti-Semitic.
I said that is how it started... then progressed to trapping Jewish students in a club room and then the death of an 80 year old Jewish protester....
I never said it was an eye for an eye. I said that things tend to get worse... and usually snowball.
This is not a contest of who has more hate on them. It is just not a shock that things are playing out that way. Human nature tends to be, well.... very human.
You may have not said it, but that is exactly what is happening, and as you stated it will probably get worse.
Sadly that paragraph is quite true, vengence and killing is very human.
They have been violent, haven't they?
We don't know the motive for this yet. The spinsters went to great lengths to tell us what they were wearing.
I think I'll wait for the facts to come in.
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Are you speaking of the US or worldwide? It's evident that there has been violence some of which I posted.
The ''spinsters'', LMAO they did tell us what they were wearing and speaking in Arabic which could be to show that they were easy to ID for the shooter.
That is probably a first.
You do realize there are people out there that may tie the dress and language to the persons being Jewish.
Not everyone can distinguish one culture from another.
If it was three or four decades ago it would be possible since some Jews wore them as well. They are not religious statement or sign. Currently, I doubt if you'll see Jews wearing them today since they have become a symbol of the Palestinians.
It may be going down a road less travelled, but unfortunately it is getting busier.
Oh, no! Terrorists are being terrorized. Only terrorists are allowed to indiscriminately attack and kill people. Cultural appropriation is a hate crime. We cannot tolerate terrorists being terrorized.
BTW, a keffiyeh is just a rag; no different than a Confederate flag. A keffiyeh has no significance other than as a way for terrorists to identify each other.
Sorta like a MAGA cap.
Yep, sorta like a MAGA cap.
There have been articles lately that have indicated that on campuses Jews are covering the Star of David necklaces and not wearing kippahs that they usually wear openly, obviously because they don't want to hold themselves out as primary targets. What could the Arab-speaking students have been wearing kaffiyehs for these days when Islamophobia is increasing dramatically and there has already been evidence of American residents being shot probably because they were Muslim? Were they trying to make a point or were they just being stupid?
Neither should have to hide their religion, Buzz. Let's not blame the victims here.
I agree with you, sandy, but let's try to be realistic in the present circumstances.
Nobody in America should fear that harm could come to them just because of their religion, but you know very well that it has happened and it will continue to happen whether or not it should happen and these days that it has become even more possible and I don't blame anyone for being careful these days and I am NOT blaming the "victim".
A keffiyeh doesn't have anything to do with religion. Arabian Jews and Christians will also wear a keffiyeh.
Maybe so, but most people are not aware of that and would identify it as something that a Palestinian would wear and I don't think I'm wrong that the vast majority of Palestinians are Muslims, and I'm sure most people would think they are. The well-known image of Arafat in his forever Keffiyeh is bound to prevail.
Asking if they were stupid is victim-blaming, Buzz.
Yassar. But that trite apology ignores that most westerners associate Islam with terrorism. There has been a lot of political effort expended to separate 'Muslim' from 'Islamic terrorism'. However, Charlie Hebdo speaks for itself.
The western experience with Islam has not been peaceful. European leaders do not look to Muslims to act as peacemakers. Maybe people do associate a keffiyeh with Arafat and Palestinians. Maybe people associate a keffiyeh with Muslims. But associating a keffiyeh with peace requires a lot of gaslighting.
Well, then, from now on YOU can do the asking, I give up.
What trite apology? Fuck that. I'm not apologizing for anything. Gee whiz. I wonder why most westerners associate Islam with terrorism. It must have been Martians who blew up the bus that shook the hotel I was in in Jerusalem. Why don't you tell my friend in Toronto who lost his son in the WTC on 9/11 that the building exploded by itself? America is just joking when it declared Hamas to be a terrorist organization because they're Amish. etc etc etc etc.
Perhaps they were trying to show that they were not afraid of showing who they are, there are Jews here in our community that are doing the same and there are others on both sides that are hiding their ID.
Right here in Ocala we have this situaion. Many of our neighbors who are Jewish will not ID themselves and others are. The Auto Shop I use is owned by a Lebanese Bedouin who is afraid since there were slurs painted on his shop. This is a guy whose brother was killed while in the Lebanese Army fighting Hezbollah.
Do you see how fucked up this situation has become.
You're absolutely right it really is fucked up. We're wrong no matter what we do, because someone is going to find fault with it. We're both wrong and right if we hide what we are, and we're both wrong and right if we make it obvious who we are. We're wrong if we're critical of either way - just like I got slapped for my opinion which to some might be right and to others is wrong. To hell with this, I'm going back to preparing my next movie quiz - at least there I won't get slapped down by someone, I hope.
You can withdraw from the conversation, Buzz and it doesn't help or hurt but it doesn't allow you to express your thoughts or for anyone else to express their thoughts to you. That will never solve a problem.
As Indians we know very well how to hide our ID it's called ''passing'' my father had to do it to get a job cuz they didn't hire Indians. I did it to keep from getting beaten to death. So watching friends and acquaintances do it is distressing, to say the least. It's humiliating and dehumanizing at best.
But sadly it is what it is in today's world. We have people getting involved on both sides that have no idea of the history of the conflict yet they fashion themselves into experts on it. If you asked a dozen people on the street what the King David Hotel incident was none of them would have the slightest idea.
So, what do we do, quit talking? go to our corners and come out fighting, kill all the Palestinians or kill all the Jews? If we quit trying to find a way to live together there will be a loser and the thought of that isn't pleasant to either side, but somewhere in the future it will happen.
Yes, trite apology. That's not to suggest it was intentional. The desire to seek out some sort of normalcy for discussing the situation is natural. That natural desire for normalcy makes diplomacy difficult because terrorists can exploit that natural desire. That's why it is impossible to negotiate with terrorists.
“We have people getting involved on both sides that have no idea of the history of the conflict yet they fashion themselves into experts on it.”
So true… to be so misinformed, to focus solely on the partisan narrative du jour, and thus making it nearly impossible to engage in meaningful discussion…a sad sign of our times.
For us "browner" or "blacker" if one prefers Black Americans "passing" is impossible. This may explain why I am so adamant about diversity (as my blackness is ever before my face when I look at myself and others see me). When there is a Black American 'backlash' of one kind or another I am keen-even in California (it is likely I would be more so in other states of our country)-to be careful where I go and what 'vibes' people are giving off.
Also, I have to agree. We need to talk this. . . out. Retreating from discussion with hurt feelings won't fix this. After all, even Israel as outrages as the nation is. . .is interacting with Hamas, it's bitter enemy until death, to get something constructive done around hostages.
This, what we're doing is infinitely easier.
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This has been my fear all alone. That hatred would come out of 'remission' here because of what has happened in the M/E. People who live to a great old age should not be killed on a sideway of America anymore than a baby! It is just a shame that we can't count on seniority to save us when our strength is waning due to age. Nor should these students have been murdered.
These are our unarmed dead. This nation should be ashamed and condemn whosoever did these crimes in our country: Find the guilty and throw the book at them all!
Police arrest suspect in possible 'hate-motivated' shooting of three Palestinian students