During Thanksgiving break, on November 25, 2023, three Palestinian college students were shot midday in Burlington, Vermont. The three 20-year olds were taking a walk before dinner, right outside of the University of Vermont, while visiting one of the victim’s grandmother. 

Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Hisham Awartani were the three students who were  severely injured. All three victims are either attending Brown University, Haverford College, or Trinity College. A suspect of the shooting was arrested on Sunday, Jason J. Eaten, but is pleading not guilty to three counts of attempted second-degree murder. When police arrived at his apartment, where the shooting had occurred outside of, Eaten opened the door, according to CNN, saying, ‘’I’ve been waiting for you.” At this time, there is no bail set.

Although the three had been rushed to the hospital for the weekend, one was released on Monday. The name of the one released has not been told to the public. The confidentiality is for his own safety as there is still not someone held accountable. The other two remain hospitalized, with their condition not being completely public, other than knowing one has a severe spinal injury and one was hit in the upper torso. This will require the victim to receive long term care.

The shooting is being assumed to be a hate crime, but the motive is not entirely known yet. According to CNN, Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George had said, “although we do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement, I do want to be clear that there is no question, this was a hateful act.”