Vermont Palestinian 'hate crime' victim left paralyzed from chest down
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Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested last week and charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
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Photo of Hisham Awartani, one of three Palestinian students shot in Vermont, with his mother, Elizabeth Price. (Institute for the Middle East)
One of the three Palestinian students shot in Vermont last month has been paralyzed from the chest down due to a bullet that was lodged in his spine, Reuters quoted the student’s family as saying.
Hisham Awartani, a 20-year-old Brown University junior, was heading to his grandmother's house for supper last month in Burlington, Vermont, with his friends Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid when the three students were shot without any prior altercation.
A statement by his family expressed that his first thoughts were for "his friends, then for his parents who were thousands of miles away. He has demonstrated remarkable courage, resilience and fortitude – even a sense of humour – even as the reality of his paralysis sets in."
His family also expressed the belief that Hisham would "change the world through his spirit, his mind and his compassion" for those more vulnerable, particularly the thousands killed in Gaza and thousands struggling as they cling to life in the besieged Strip amid the "humanitarian crisis unfolding there."
Police arrested Jason J. Eaton, 48, last week and charged him with three counts of attempted second-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and will serve a life sentence if convicted.
Despite court documents that indicate the victims were wearing a Palestinian Koufiyyeh scarf, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad stated that it was still uncertain if the shooting was hate-motivated, urging the media to "avoid making conclusions," as the police are "working hard" to find the motive behind the shooting.
During a press conference, he explained that law enforcement still does not hold the information needed.
The victims' relatives and human rights organizations have underlined that the shooting happened amid near-constant fears among some Muslim and Arab populations in the US, who have expressed worry for their safety since the war on Gaza began.
According to fresh data, CAIR received "unprecedented" 1,283 claims of anti-Arab and Islamophobic bigotry in the previous month.
This is not the first hate crime to target Palestinians in the US, as last month, a Palestinian child was killed and his mother was badly injured after being stabbed over a dozen times in Plainfield Township, Chicago.
