US police arrest suspect of shooting three Palestinian students and treat case as ‘hate crime’

The police of U.S arrested a suspect, identified as Jason Eaton, of carrying out a shooting attack against three college students of Palestinian descent in the state of Vermont. Authorities consider what happened to be a crime motivated by hate, they said on Monday, 27. Eaton, 48, was arrested on Sunday and is expected in court later this Monday. The incident occurred amid high tensions and episodes of violence reported on university campuses and in other parts of the United States, simultaneously with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. According to City of Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad, evidence collected during a search of Eaton’s apartment as well as additional data gathered “gave investigators and prosecutors probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton carried out the shooting,” Murad said. in a statement. Police spokespeople had previously declared that the perpetrator was “a white man carrying a pistol”, who acted without saying a word and “fired at least four bullets”.

A police statement indicated that two of the victims were in stable condition and the third suffered “much more serious injuries”. Two are United States citizens and another has legal residence in the country. Although they have not yet reached a conclusion about the shooter’s motivation, it was confirmed that two of the young men were wearing “keffiyehs”, the traditional black and white Palestinian headscarf. “At this tense time, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a crime motivated by hate,” Murad said in a statement. The three victims were graduates of Ramallah Friends School, a private Quaker school in the Palestinian territory of West Bankand now attend different universities in the northeastern United States, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the victims’ families.

“As parents we are devastated by the horrible news that our children have been attacked and shot… We call on the authorities to carry out a thorough investigation. We will not be comfortable until the aggressor is brought to justice”, maintained the note. The American Arab Committee Against Discrimination commented on the case, saying it had “reason to believe that this shooting occurred because the victims are Arabs.” Furthermore, he asked Vermont authorities to investigate what happened as a “hate crime”. US President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident on Sunday, according to the White House. Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and former Democratic Party presidential candidate, called the attack “shocking and deeply disappointing,” adding that “hate has no place” in the United States “or anywhere in the world.”