The relatives of the three Palestinian students shot on Saturday in Vermont issued a statement this Monday ensuring that the attack was a hate crime. However, the FBI is still investigating the incident to determine if the families’ suspicions are true.
The families said they were “devastated by the horrible news that our children were attacked and shot in Burlington, VT.”
“We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice. “We need to ensure that our children are protected and that this heinous crime is not repeated,” the statement said.
The suspect is already under arrest and pleaded not guilty at his first appearance.
And they added: “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 build their future. “We are grateful to the doctors and nurses who work tirelessly to save the lives of our children, and to the city officials who are giving this horrendous hate crime their full attention in pursuit of justice.”
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They asked that no one donate to fundraisers unless requested by the family. They also requested to maintain privacy so that they can properly care for their families.
Likewise, the cousin of one of them, Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University, said that his relative could have been attacked for speaking Arabic and wearing a keffiyeh (a checkered scarf used as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity).
“The dangerous performative rhetoric of American pundits and politicians, as well as the constant dehumanization of Palestinians, has a real cost of life,” Basil Awartani, Hisham’s cousin, wrote on X – formerly known as Twitter.
Hisham’s mother, Elizabeth Price, told NBC News on Monday that “it’s a miracle they’re all alive. “These bullets should have ended their lives.”
The young man’s uncle also claimed that it was a hate crime.
“I think the families fear that this was motivated by hate, that these children, these young people, were attacked because they were Arabs, who were wearing keffiyehs. I think that’s ours,” Price said, according to NBC News.
“I will speak on behalf of my family, my sister’s family, we believe in the sanctity of the presumption of innocence and due process and that is why we will support the authorities as they move forward with their investigation, but it certainly seems that that is our fear “added the man.
While there are suspicions that it could be a hate crime, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday morning that federal authorities are investigating whether it is, in fact, such an event.
“As we speak, the ATF and FBI are investigating the tragic shooting of three men of Palestinian descent in Vermont. That investigation, even if it is a hate crime, is ongoing,” Garland said.
Jon Murad, the police chief of Burlington, Vermont, stated: “In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate crime. And I have already been in contact with federal investigative and prosecution partners to prepare for that if proven.”
That Monday, President Joe Biden regretted the attack on the three university students, but did not classify the event as a “hate crime.”
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