Suspect arrested in Vermont shooting of 3 U.S. college students of Palestinian descent

The FBI late Sunday indicated that it has been investigating the shooting, following an earlier statement that information about "a potential federal violation" would be needed to trigger its participation.

"The FBI continues to actively investigate the shooting in Burlington alongside our partners at Burlington Police Department, ATF, and several other federal, state, and local agencies," the agency's Albany, New York, office said in its latest statement.

The FBI said it has already devoted resources to the probe, including personnel and gear for computer and cellphone analysis. It asked members of the public who might have information about the attack to step forward.

Earlier, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee called on federal law enforcement to investigate the attack as a hate crime.

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Two witnesses said they heard gunfire last night in Burlington and were jolted by the violence.

Machara Renz, a graduate student at the University of Vermont, and Alexander Wehr, who works at a nearby middle school, had just gotten back from dinner when they heard gunfire.

"We heard four gunshots," Renz said today near the scene of the shooting. "We looked at each other and we confirmed" the sound was gunfire, she said.

She said she looked out a window and saw nothing. But when the sound of sirens got closer to the location, the pair looked outside again and saw two figures on the ground.

"We heard a man screaming in pain," Wehr said. "It was very scary."

Tensions have been high across the U.S. amid the war between Israel and Hamas. Renz noted that a recent event in Burlington organized to support Palestinians was peaceful but also attracted some people who were “spewing a lot of hate.”

The two said they were shocked and angered by the violence they witnessed.

"I feel angry for those three young men that had to experience that," Renz said. "I feel sad for the person that thought that that was the right thing to do."

While a keffiyah is a traditional scarf worn by Arabs across the Middle East, the Palestinian variation has a specific design that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity across the region.

Two of the students shot in Burlington were wearing the scarf at the time of the attack, police said today.

The Palestinian keffiyah, sometimes spelled kufiya, has many modernized iterations, but the original is a black and white scarf that symbolizes the Palestinian economy: block lines for trade routes, an olive leaf pattern and a fishnet design throughout.

It was frequently worn by Palestinian politician Yasser Arafat, who was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and later president of the Palestinian National Authority.

According to Hirbawi, the last textile factory producing keffiyahs in the occupied Palestinian territory, the scarf initially became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism in the 1930s, when Arabs in the region revolted against British colonialism. On its website, Hirbawi writes that the scarf means two things to Palestinians: "Palestine will live on. Palestine will be free."

The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee is calling on law enforcement, including the FBI and Justice Department, to investigate the shooting of three Palestinian men as a hate crime.

The FBI said in a statement that if "information comes to light of a potential federal violation," it is prepared to investigate.

Two of the three men, all of whom are students a colleges in the U.S., were wearing keffiyahs when they were shot, Burlington police said.

In a statement to Brown University's community today, school President Christina H. Paxson said she has asked its chaplain's office to organize a vigil Monday at the campus in Providence, Rhode Island.

One of the three victims of the Saturday night attack, Hisham Awartani, is a junior at Brown, she said. The vigil is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on the campus' Main Green.

"I call on our community to come together to condemn anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and acts of violence and hate, and express care and empathy for one another," Paxson said in the statement.

She said relatives of the victims asked that no donations be made to fundraisers unless they are specifically organized by close family members.

In a statement today, Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said victim Hisham Awartani, a junior at the institution, remains hospitalized and is expected to survive.

In the statement addressed to the university community, Paxson said relatives allowed her to share that Awartani is Palestinian Irish American.

"There are not enough words to express the deep anguish I feel for Hisham, his parents and family members, and his friends," Paxson said. "I know that this heinous and despicable act of violence — this latest evidence of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate spiraling across this country and around the world — will leave many in our community deeply shaken."

She indicated care and support were available on campus for those in need. She also urged community members to "express care and empathy for one another." 

The University of Vermont said in a statement today that “we have no indication” that the shooting is connected to the school, cautioning that the investigation continues.

"We are saddened by reports of a shooting at approximately 6:30 pm last night on Prospect Street in Burlington near UVM, injuring three out-of-state visitors," President Suresh Garimella and Provost Patty Prelock said in the statement. "Currently, we have no indication of a connection to the university community, but the investigation is at an early stage."

The three victims were in town to visit and were not students at the university.

University police and campus safety teams are providing security in and around campus, "as is common in the wake of any significant safety incident," the university said.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and to all who are impacted by this incident. We encourage members of the UVM community to reach out for support as needed and we encourage you to support those around you," it said.

Trinity College, which one of the victims attends, said in a statement today that the community was "heartbroken."

Tahseen Ahmed, who was wounded in last night's shooting, is set to graduate from the university in 2026.

"A member of the Trinity Student Life staff went to Vermont early this morning to provide support and reports that Tahseen wants the Trinity community to know that he is in stable condition at an area hospital," President Joanne Berger-Sweeney and Joseph DiChristina, the vice president for student success and enrollment management, said in the statement.

"At this moment, please keep Tahseen and his friends in your heart."

Police tape and vehicles seen near the scene of the shooting in Burlington last night that wounded three Palestinian college students.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott called the shooting of three Palestinian students in Burlington last night "a tragedy."

“My thoughts are with them and their families," Scott said in a statement. "I have offered the State’s full support to the Mayor and Burlington Police Chief as this senseless crime is investigated, and in support of the Palestinian and broader Burlington community."

Scott urged residents to "unite to help the community heal, and not let this incident incite more hate or divisiveness."

"We must come together in these difficult times — it is the only way to put a stop to the violence we’re seeing," he said.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting of three Palestinian students in Burlington.

Biden will be updated as law enforcement gathers more information, the White House said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is offering a $10,000 reward for information about the shooting in Burlington that wounded three Palestinian men.

The organization also called on state and federal law enforcement agencies in Vermont to investigate a possible bias motive 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,” National Executive Director Nihad Awad said. “We hope our reward will result in information leading to an arrest in this case.”

In a joint statement they issued through the Institute for Middle East Understanding, the families said they "are devastated by the horrific news that our children were targeted and shot in Burlington, VT."

The families identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. Awartani is a student at Brown University, Abdalhamid is a student at Haverford College, and Ahmed is a student at Trinity College.

"At this time, our primary concern is their full recovery and that they receive the critical medical support they need to survive," the statement read. "We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children."

The families said the victims are "dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures."

"We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice. We need to ensure that our children are protected, and this heinous crime is not repeated," the statement read.

The Palestinian shooting victims "were confronted by a white male with a handgun" who shot at least four rounds "without speaking," Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a news release.

"Preliminary investigation has determined that all three were visiting the home of one victim’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday. The three were walking on Prospect Street when they were confronted by a white male with a handgun," Murad said. "The suspect was on foot in the area. Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot."

All three victims, whom police did not name out of respect for their own wishes, were struck — two in the torso and one in the "lower extremities" — police said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the shooting of three Palestinian men in Burlington "shocking and deeply upsetting."

"It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT," Sanders wrote on X. "Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation. My thoughts are with them and their families."

Haverford College, which one of the Burlington shooting victims attends, identified all three as Palestinian.

In a note shared with the college community, President Wendy Raymond and Dean John McKnight said they learned "early this morning that a member of our community, Haverford junior Kinnan Abdalhamid, is recovering from a gunshot wound in a hospital in Burlington, VT, after he and two of his lifelong friends were shot near the University of Vermont campus by an unknown assailant(s) Saturday evening."

The FBI said it is aware of the incident in Burlington where three Palestinian men were shot.

“We are aware of the incident in Burlington and are working with our state and local partners in Vermont,” said a spokesperson for the FBI's field office in Albany, New York. “If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.”

The three shooting victims were wearing keffiyehs and speaking Arabic when a man harassed and shot them, according to the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.

A keffiyeh is a traditional scarf worn by people in parts of the Middle East. it has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.

The ADC identified the victims as students, all 20 years old. They all survived, but two of them were in the intensive care unit and one "has sustained very critical and serious injuries," according to the ADC.

The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank identified the Burlington shooting victims as graduates of the school.

"Ramallah Friends School board, administration, staff and community are deeply distressed by the recent incident involving three of our graduates," the school wrote on Facebook.

According to the school, one was shot in the back and another was shot in the chest. NBC News has not independently confirmed that information.

"We stand united in hope and support for their well-being during this challenging time. Please hold our graduates and their families in the light," the school wrote.

Three Palestinian men were shot in Burlington, Vermont, last night while on their way to a family dinner, according to Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission to the U.K.

"Their crime? Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh," Zomlot wrote on X. "They are critically injured."

Zomlot referred to the murder of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was fatally stabbed by his landlord about six weeks ago in Illinois.

"The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop. Palestinians everywhere need protection," he wrote.