In a shocking incident, as many as three Palestinian college students were shot in the United States' Burlington City. According to media reports, the incident occurred on Saturday evening (local time) near the University of Vermont. The students were reportedly strolling along Prospect Street after visiting a relative in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday when "they were confronted by a white man with a handgun," news agency ANI reported citing CNN.
According to a statement issued by the police, the victims were taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center for medical care. "Two are stable, while one has sustained much more serious injuries. Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot," the police said in its release.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Middle East Understanding issued a statement and identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut.
Shooter yet to be apprehended
The police further stated that two students sustained injuries to the torso, while the third suffered injuries to the "lower extremities." There is no additional information to suggest the suspect's motive, they added. Moreover, detectives recovered ballistic evidence from the shooting, which will be submitted to a federal database, according to Burlington police. According to CNN, the shooter has not been identified or apprehended yet and the police department is "at the earliest stages of investigating this crime."
What victims' families said?
In a joint statement, the victims' families urged law enforcement to investigate the attack as a hate crime. "We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice," they said. "No family should ever have to endure this pain and agony. Our children are dedicated students who deserve to be able to focus on their studies and building their futures," they added.
It should be noted here that the incident occurred amid the increased tensions and hate crimes in the US in the past few weeks since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, to which Israel retaliated with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
(With inputs from ANI)
ALSO READ: US shooting: 22 killed, dozens injured in Maine's Lewiston city, gunman at large
