Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, three Palestinian students have been shot in the US, by a ‘white man with a handgun’. Know all about it..

New Delhi: The Israel Palestine Conflict has been in the news and a huge topic of discussion as the two nations have been at war for almost two months since October 7 when the Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas fired 5000 rockets from Gaza on Israel, declaring a full-fledged war. Amid the rising death toll and destruction from the war, three Palestinian college students have been shot in the United States by a ‘white man with a handgun’. The incident took place in Vermont and now the famliesof the victims have demanded hate crime probe in the matter. Know all about it..

Palestinian Students Shot In US

As mentioned earlier, three Palestinian college students were shot in Burlington City, Vermont, US on Saturday evening, as reported by CNN. According to information, the students were walking on Prospect Street after visiting a relative in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday when “they were confronted by a white man with a handgun.” The police said in its release, “Two are stable, while one has sustained much more serious injuries.”

Victims Taken To University Of Vermont Medical Center For Medical Care

The victims, two of whom are US citizens and one a legal resident, were taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center for medical care, according to a statement issued by the police on Sunday, as reported by CNN. Notably, two of the students were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, they added. According to CNN, two students sustained injuries to the torso, while the third suffered injuries to the “lower extremities.” “Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot,” police said.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Middle East Understanding issued a statement and identified the victims as Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University in Rhode Island; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut, CNN reported.

Police Investigates, Victims’ Kin Demands Hate Crime Probe

Authorities said that “there is no additional information to suggest the suspect’s motive.” Moreover, detectives recovered ballistic evidence from the shooting, which will be submitted to a federal database, according to Burlington police. Reportedly, the FBI on Sunday said that it was “prepared to investigate” the incident. According to CNN, the shooter or shooters have not been identified or apprehended yet and the police department is “at the earliest stages of investigating this crime.”

In a joint statement, the victims’ families urged law enforcement to investigate the attack as a hate crime. “We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice,” they said. “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 building their futures,” they added.

The incident comes amid the increased tensions and hate crimes in the US in the past few weeks since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, to which Israel retaliated with airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Earlier in October, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy was stabbed to death by his family’s landlord in a case, however, the authorities called it a hate crime, according to CNN.

(Inputs from ANI)