Arrest is made in shooting of 3 in Vt.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Zachary Schermele

Kinnan Abdalhamid grew up in the West Bank before his arrival in the United States.

His family had feared for his safety there.

The 20-year-old and two of his friends, Hisham Awartani and Tahseen Aliahmad, both also 20, were shot on Saturday in a Burlington, Vermont, neighborhood.

Jason Eaton, 48, is accused of shooting and injuring the three young men of Palestinian descent. He was arrested on Sunday and will remain behind bars as authorities investigate whether it was a hate crime.

“Kinnan grew up in the West Bank, and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of safety and sending him here would be the right decision,” his uncle Radi Tamimi said Monday. “We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here.”

Eaton was arrested by investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after they encountered him during a canvass of the shooting location in Burlington, according to a police press release.

Awartani goes to Brown University in Rhode Island; Abdalhamid attends Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Aliahmad attends Connecticut’s Trinity College. The three were shot about 6:25 p.m. on Saturday while visiting one victim’s family on Prospect Street near the University of Vermont campus for a Thanksgiving get-together.

Awartini suffered serious injuries. The other two victims were in stable condition, police said.

Police have said they are investigating to determine whether the crime was motivated by race.

Abdalhamid told police he is a Palestinian American and Palestine advocate. He said he traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend a recent march in support of Palestine, where he appeared on CBS News, according to an arrest affidavit for Eaton.

Rich Price, Awartani’s uncle, said he has been with his nephew and friends constantly since Saturday.

“I’m blown away by their resilience, by their good humor in the face of these difficult times,” Price said.

Eaton pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second-degree murder during an arraignment before Judge A. Gregory Rainville in a Vermont courtroom on Monday. He appeared through a webcam and stared into the camera as he stated his name. Eaton is being represented by a public defender.

The Vermont Office of the Defender General declined to comment Monday.

Evidence collected during a search of Eaton’s apartment near the shooting, along with interviews and the neighborhood canvass, led police to believe Eaton was the shooter.

“This person, we have full probable cause to believe, committed this horrible, horrible crime,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said at a news conference Monday. “Our next step will be building that case to make certain that it is as strong as possible so that we can deliver it to the state’s attorney.”

The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank identified the three victims as school alumni, a Facebook post said.

According to the arrest affidavit for Eaton, a white man with a gray beard approached the trio walking down the street and discharged at least four rounds at them without speaking, One bullet lodged in a victim’s spine and another in a second victim’s chest, according to the affidavit. After the attack, the suspect fled on foot.

A witness told police he heard at least four gunshots and found the victims outside. He heard someone enter the common area of his apartment building and climb the stairs, according to court documents.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Eaton told authorities after they arrived at his home, according to the affidavit. He then asked for an attorney.

A search of Eaton’s residence turned up a firearm.

“He appeared very nervous,” Murad said during the news conference. “He was shaking.”

The victims wore keffiyahs, traditional Palestinian neck scarves, and were speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, leading authorities to investigate it as a possible hate crime. Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident, police said.

“These are three life felonies,” said Chittenden County State Attorney Sarah George. “And 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.”

Burlington police have not yet identified a motive. If the shooting is identified as a hate crime, they will involve federal agencies to continue the investigation, Murad previously said.

Police believe Eaton came to the Burlington area recently from Syracuse, New York, according to Murad.

The FBI based in Albany, New York, said it is awaiting evidence that the shooting was a hate crime to begin its investigation. “If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate,” it said in a statement.

President Joe Biden is receiving updates about the investigation, White House press secretary Karine JeanPierre said Monday.

In a statement released on Sunday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said after reviewing initial reports that it had “reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.” The organization called on the FBI, the Justice Department and local authorities in Vermont to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.

“Given the information collected and provided, it is clear that the hate was a motivating factor in this shooting, and we call on law enforcement to investigate it as such,” ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub said. “The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent.”