What to know about shootings
- Police arrested Jason J. Eaton, 48, near the scene of Saturday's shooting in Burlington, Vermont.
- Eaton has pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree attempted murder.
- Relatives identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown University; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a student at Connecticut's Trinity College.
- All three remain hospitalized. Awartani was shot in the spine, Ali Ahmad was shot in the chest, and Abdalhamid was shot in the glute, according to court documents.
- The FBI late last night indicated that it was investigating the shooting; it said in an earlier statement that information about "a potential federal violation" would be needed to trigger its participation.
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'I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict,' victim says in statement read at Brown vigil
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — At a vigil on the Brown campus today, a professor read a statement from one of the shooting victims, Hisham Awartani, a Brown student.
In the statement, Awartani expressed his appreciation for the outpouring of love and prayers and made a joke about being famous, but the statement took a more solemn tone as he wrote that the shooting was part of a larger story.
"This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate the love of every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict," the statement said. "Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who would have shot me would go home and never be convicted."
Awartani said, "Any attempt like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine."
"This is why when you send your wishes and light your candles. Your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual, but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed."
Beshara Doumani, the Mahmoud Darwish professor of Palestinian studies at Brown, read the statement. He and another school employee visited Awartani yesterday in Burlington.
Two of Awartani's friends — a high school classmate and his roommate — also spoke at the vigil.
Suspect allegedly told ATF agents: ‘I’ve been waiting for you’
When ATF agents knocked on the apartment door of the suspect accused of shooting three Palestinian college students — two of them U.S. citizens — in Burlington over the weekend, he held out his empty palms at his waist and responded, “I’ve been waiting for you,” authorities said.
But when agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asked him why, the suspect replied that he wanted a lawyer and advised he had a gun in the apartment, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said of the initial interaction yesterday afternoon.
“There was shakiness and a sense of concern,” Murad told reporters today about the suspect's demeanor, “but also something of a lack of affect.”
'We stand against hate, violence and injustice,' says adventure school where suspect once worked
A nonprofit wilderness adventure school where the suspect worked last year said it was horrified to learn of the shooting.
Kroka Expeditions, based in Marlow, New Hampshire, said in a statement that it operates a small farm from its base camp village campus. The suspect was employed as a farm assistant during the 2022 summer season, primarily taking care of livestock and landscaping, it said.
It said it has not had contact with him since October 2022.
The school said it welcomes diverse groups and seeks to build community and "raise personal consciousness" through expeditions, which include canoeing, hiking and other activities around New England.
“We stand against hate, violence and injustice in our local communities and around the world,” Kroka Expeditions said in the statement.
Arrest is first step toward justice, families of 3 students say
The families of the three college students shot in Burlington said in a joint statement that they are relieved an arrest has been made.
The charges "the suspect faces are an important and welcomed first step towards bringing justice and accountability for our sons," the families said. The suspect is charged with three counts of second-degree attempted murder.
In the statement, they said that they believe an investigation will show their sons were targeted because they are Palestinian and that accountability is needed so such an attack does not happen again.
"No one’s child should be attacked simply because of their identity," the families said. "Our children, Palestinian children, like everyone else, deserve to feel safe."
Students on Brown campus wear kaffiyehs to honor victim
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Many students around Brown’s campus are wearing kaffiyehs today in honor of Hisham and the two other students shot in Vermont.
Lily Gardner, a sophomore at Brown who is a founding member of a new student group, Jews for Ceasefire Now, said wearing kaffiyehs is “something that we have done in the past and something that we are especially doing in solidarity with Palestinians now, given that that is what they wore when they were attacked.”
Police have said two of the three victims were wearing kaffiyehs when they were shot.
Victim spoke against ongoing Hamas-Israel war last month
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Hisham Awartani, the wounded Brown University student, spoke at a campus rally last month, decrying the ongoing Hamas-Israel war.
Just days after Hamas' Oct. 7 invasion, Awartani appeared at a campus vigil organized by Brown Students for Justice in Palestine and said Palestinian deaths are too often ignored.
“If Palestinians had to hold vigils every time our people were massacred, we would be bankrupt from buying candles,” The Brown Daily Herald quoted him telling the crowd. “There is no respite for us.”
Photo: Abdalhamid and Awartani at a Model U.N. event as children
Hisham Awartani, left, and Kinnan Abdalhamid pose for a photo at a Model United Nations event at Friends School, where they were students, in Ramallah in the West Bank.
Biden insists 'there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America'
President Joe Biden today thanked local and federal law enforcement agencies for their quick work in arresting the man suspected of shooting three college students in Vermont.
Biden stopped short of labeling Saturday's shooting in Burlington a bias attack but said the three young men were doing nothing more than "simply spending Thanksgiving gathered with family and loved ones."
"While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: There is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period," Biden said in a statement. "No person should worry about being shot at while going about their daily lives. And far too many Americans know a family member injured or killed as a result of gun violence. We cannot and we will not accept that."
Brown student's mother says 'it's a miracle that they're all alive'
Hisham Awartani's mother told NBC News today that "it's a miracle that they're all alive."
“These bullets should have ended their lives,” Elizabeth Price said of the shooting at point-blank range.
She described her son as curious and said that he wanted to know about everything. "He’s a fascinating young man and he has a lot of potential. I believe in him because I believe in his ability to see and be enriched by the world and be excited by the world, no matter what happens,” Price said.
Suspect recently fired from financial services job
Jason Eaton, the 48-year-old suspected Vermont shooter, was fired from his job earlier this month at CUSO Financial, the company said today.
"Jason Eaton worked less than a year at CUSO Financial and his employment had been terminated on November 8, 2023. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate. We have no further comment," a spokeswoman said.
CUSO is an investment adviser firm serving institutions such as credit unions.