Three Palestinian American college students were attacked and seriously injured by a gunman while trying to go to a Thanksgiving family gathering. They were wearing kaffiyeh (turbans), a traditional Middle Eastern costume, at the time of the attack, raising the possibility of a hate crime.
According to local police authorities and the victim’s family on the 26th (local time), three 20-year-old college students of the same age were shot by a gunman while passing near the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, USA, at around 6:25 pm on the 25th. One of the three people was on his way to a relative’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Considering that they were wearing checkered kaffiyeh and speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, the police believed that there was a high possibility of a hate crime and requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to cooperate with the investigation.
Burlington Police Chief John Murad said in a statement, “No one can look at this incident without suspecting it was a hate crime,” and said he would work with the FBI to investigate. Police are searching for the suspect as of the night of the 26th, Eastern time.
According to the victim’s family, the college students who were hit were Brown University student Hisham Awathani, Haverford University student Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Trinity University student Tahsin Ahmed. They were alumni of Ramallah Friends School, a private middle school run by the Quakers, a Protestant sect, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of Jordan. Police said two were U.S. citizens and one was a legal resident.
The American-Arab Non-Discrimination Committee (ADC), an American Muslim human rights group, issued a statement on this day and claimed that it was a clear hate crime, saying, “The suspect shouted and threatened the victims, who were speaking in Arabic, and then shot them.” Vermont Senator and Jewish Representative Bernie Sanders issued a statement on this day, saying, “The shocking and very sad incident of the shooting of three young men of Palestinian descent occurred here in Burlington. Hatred has no place here or anywhere else. “We urge a thorough investigation,” he said.
Since the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas last month, anti-Jewish and anti-Islamic sentiments have spread across the United States, and the two sides are suffering from conflict. The Thanksgiving Day balloon parade held in New York on the 23rd was also halted due to protests in support of Palestine.
New York =
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.