The alleged gunman in the suspected bias attack shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont has been arrested, according to police.
Jason Eaton, 48, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon after he was identified as a suspect, Burlington police said, according to CNN.
Eaton lives in an apartment building near where the triple shooting happened and was arrested Sunday around 3:30 p.m. for allegedly wounding the three 20-year-olds, authorities said.
Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid were all shot Saturday as they walked to a family dinner, police and Arab-American officials said.
Awartani is a student at Brown University, Abdalhamid at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Ahmad at Trinity University, the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee said.
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The trio were rushed to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where two were listed in stable condition and third in serious condition.
“All three victims survived the initial shooting, however, two of them are currently in ICU and one of the students has sustained very critical and serious injuries,” the ADC said in a statement.
A lawyer representing the victims’ families, Abed Ayoub, told CNN at least two of the men were wearing traditional Palestinian Keffiyeh scarves when they were attacked.
The students were also reportedly speaking Arabic when the gunman opened fire, according to the ADC.
Police are probing whether the shooting was a hate crime amid growing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in the US with the ongoing Israel-Hamas war overseas.
“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said on Sunday. “And I have already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to prepare for that if it’s proven.”
Last month, an Illinois man stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy 26 times, killing him in a shocking hate crime fueled by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Eaton is expected to be arraigned Monday, CNN reported.
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