By Michael Donoghue
Vermont News First
A version of this news story appeared in the Caledonian-Record today
The three shooting victims in a the latest gunfire incident in Burlington are students from Palestinian territories and were visiting a relative of one of the young men in Vermont’s largest city, according to law enforcement, diplomatic and media sources.
President Joe Biden, who was vacationing on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, was briefed about the shooting, according to the White House Press pool. The White House said Biden, who was going to head back to Washington Sunday afternoon, will get more updates as law enforcement gathers more information.
The 3 wounded students had graduated from Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-run private nonprofit school in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to the school.
The students, all age 20, were identified by their former school as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahliamed.
Abdel Hamid attends Haverford College in Pennsylvania where the school confirmed he was a junior and was recovering at a hospital from gunshot wounds, CNN reported. He was believed hit in the buttocks.
Hisham Awartani, who studies archeology at Brown University, was shot in the back and Tahseen Ahliamed, who is a student at Trinity College, was shot in the chest, the school said.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, posted on X about the incident, also naming the students and identifying them as “three young Palestinian men,” according to both CNN and Fox News.
He said the students were headed to a family dinner in Burlington when shot about 6:25 p.m. Saturday.
“Their crime? Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh. They are critically injured,” Zomlot posted. Keffiyeh is an Arab kerchief or scarf worn as a headdress.
“The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop. Palestinians everywhere need protection,” Zomlot wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a statement from the shooting victims’ families, they said, “We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime.”
Burlington Police have made no arrests and appear to have few leads.
Area law enforcement said they were told Saturday night to be on the watch for a white man, about 30 years-old with a mustache and wearing a gray sweatshirt and dark pants.
The shootings happened near 69 North Prospect Street – which is about 3 blocks south from the Ohavi Zedek Synagogue — near the University of Vermont main campus.
Two victims were found at the shooting scene and the third student was found nearby — behind 77 Mansfield Avenue.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations announced it was offering a $10,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator or perpetrators” of the shooting.
The short-staffed Burlington Police Department said it summoned multiple federal, state and local law enforcement to help investigate the case. Gov. Phil Scott has pledged full support from the state, his spokesman said Sunday.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas “Kolo” Kerest could not be reached for comment on Sunday. An office spokesman Kerest was aware of the shooting, but was withholding comment as the investigation unfolds.
By Sunday night, a second statement was issued saying his office would “assess the evidence generated to determine whether a federal crime may have been committed.”
In these kinds of cases, it is standard protocol for Kerest to notify the main office of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Burlington Police said the three wounded men remain at the UVM Medical Center with two listed as stable, including one with more serious injuries. While names of shooting victims are public by law, Chief Jon Murad declined to confirm the identities that were being widely circulated by family, friends and others. Murad did say all three victims are of Palestinian descent — two are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident.
Murad, in a news release Sunday afternoon, also confirmed two victims were wearing keffiyehs at the time of the shootings. The chief gave no direct indication the case was being treated as a hate crime, but hinted it was not hard to think about it.
“At this time, there is no additional information to suggest the suspect’s motive, such as statements or remarks by the suspect,” Murad said in his email Sunday afternoon.
“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Murad wrote.
“The fact is that we don’t yet know as much as we want to right now. But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less,” he said. It was unclear if Murad was directing his comment at families of the victims, the Palestinian ambassador, the U.S. colleges where the student attend or others.
Preliminary investigation determined all three young men were visiting the home of one victim’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday, police said. The three Palestinian men were walking on North Prospect Street when they were confronted by a white man on foot with a handgun, police said.
Burlington Police said the man, without speaking, discharged at least four rounds from a pistol and he is believed to have fled on foot. All three victims were struck, two in their torsos – reportedly in the chest and back. The third man was hit in the lower extremity – believed to be his buttocks.
Gov. Scott was upset to learn about the latest senseless gun violence case in Burlington on Saturday, his spokesman said.
“The Governor is shocked and deeply disturbed by the shooting of three young Palestinian men in Burlington yesterday. He is in contact with Burlington city leadership and has offered the State’s full support to the City and the Burlington Police Department as they lead the investigation,” Press Secretary Jason Maulucci told Vermont News First.
“Vermont State Police have also been in contact with BPD and other law enforcement to offer any support they can provide, “ he said. “The Governor will remain in contact with his team and city leadership throughout the day.”
Maulucci said Scott hopes for a swift recovery for the wounded trio and that eventually everybody can come together to work toward peace.
Vermont News First reported shortly after the shooting that Burlington Fire and Rescue, wearing tactical gear, attended to the first two injured and transported them to UVM Medical Center. Burlington Police reportedly brought the third victim to the hospital.
Independent News Videographer Wayne Savage captured four heavily-armed police officers entering a residence on North Prospect Street and shouting their presence.
Special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene to help the short-staffed Burlington Police. The FBI also reportedly has joined the investigation.
Members of the Chittenden County Violent Crime Task Force, which was formed by the ATF earlier this year because of the large number of Burlington area shootings, several of them gang-related, also were called out. The task force is staffed by members from the ATF, state police, game wardens, state motor vehicle enforcement inspectors, and local police officers from municipal departments, including South Burlington and Milton.
A Vermont Fish and Wildlife warden with his K-9 was among those searching the crime area and appeared to pick up a trail for a short distance, but later lost it.
An Audi was reported seen fleeing the area, but it was unclear if it was connected to the shooting.
Investigators recovered some ballistic evidence that will be submitted to the federal database. They continue to conduct and re-conduct neighborhood canvases and witness interviews. Murad said.
The politicians lined up to offer their comments on Sunday.
“It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington,” U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. said in a statement from his office. The former mayor of Burlington added, “Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation. My thoughts are with them and their families.”
Current Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who has said he won’t seek re-election in March, denounced the shooting.
“Violence of any kind against any person in our community is totally unacceptable and we will do everything in our power to find the perpetrator and hold them fully accountable,” he said.
While Chief Murad avoided mention of the shooting being a hate crime. Weinberger, who is considering a run for Governor, wasn’t afraid.
“That there is an indication this shooting could have been motivated by hate is chilling, and this possibility is being prioritized in the BPD’s investigation. The City of Burlington has zero tolerance for hate crimes and will work relentlessly to bring the shooter to justice.”