After being attacked in Vermont, the victim leaps a fence to get away

 After being attacked in Vermont, the victim leaps a fence to get away

After being shot in Vermont, a Palestinian-American man told police he escaped over a fence and went to a neighboring residence, where he pleaded for assistance.

On Saturday, while strolling along a Burlington street with his friends Tahseen Aliahmad and Hisham Awatani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, 20, was ambushed.

Jason J. Eaton, a 48-year-old suspect, has entered a not guilty plea to attempted murder.

Although they are looking into whether a hate crime was committed, police have not yet determined a potential motivation.

Chief of Police for Burlington John Murad said on Monday, "We still don't know as much as we want to know," but cautioned the public against drawing hasty judgments.

Following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, the US has seen an increase in cases of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, including physical assaults and internet harassment.

According to court records, the males, who were all in their 20s and of Palestinian descent, were assaulted at approximately 18:30 (23:30 GMT). They were speaking a mix of Arabic and English.

Two of them wore the customary headscarf used by Palestinians, the keffiyeh. At the time of the shooting, he was on his way back from a birthday celebration while spending Thanksgiving with a relative.

Mr. Abdelhamid said to the police that a stranger approached him from his porch brandishing a weapon and looking at him as he went past.

Then he shot them at close range and rushed away on foot without saying anything.

  

Mr. Abdalhamid told police that he leaped over a fence to avoid being hit by gunfire after being shot, and he spent two minutes hiding behind a house.

After that, he knocked on a front door nearby. When no one responded, he fled into the backyard and made an assistance request to a lady who lived in a different home.

He didn't know he had been shot until he was seated there; only then did he feel discomfort and saw some blood on his right buttocks.

When Mr. Abdalhamid was shot, his buddies were discovered by the police laying on the pavement. He received care right away.

In the hospital's critical care unit, all three are healing from their wounds. Mr. Awatani's injuries from being shot in the spine were the most severe, according to his relatives, and his recuperation would take a long period.

Mr. Eaton was being canvassed in the neighborhood on Sunday, the day after the shootings, when he was arrested by federal officials. He resides in an apartment building across from the shooting location, according to the police.

The suspect said to the agents at his door, "I was waiting for you," according to court records, and then he twice asked for a lawyer and informed them that he had a weapon inside.

Chief Murad said that while the defendant seemed "extremely nervous" and trembled, he showed "very little reaction" when the arresting police informed him he was facing attempted murder charges.

After searching his house, officers found a firearm, which is now being looked at by detectives.

The suspect is being jailed without bail after entering a plea of innocence during his Monday video link appearance in court. He will spend the rest of his life in jail if found guilty on the three major charges against him.

State Attorney Sarah George said during a press conference on Monday, "While we do not yet have evidence to promote a hate crime enhancement, I want to be affirmative that there is no question, this issue was a despicable act."

"Any person who walks to take a porch and attacks three random passersby to any reason is expressing some kind of hatred," stated Chief Murad.

According to Rich Price, Mr. Awartani's uncle, the shooting happened as the group was leaving his eight-year-old twin kids' birthday celebration.

"I am humbled by their capacity for adaptation, their good humor during these difficult times," he said.

According to Radi Tamimi, Mr. Abdalhamid's uncle, his nephew was raised on the West Bank under occupation.

"We always believed that transferring kids here would be the best course of action, even if it would be riskier for their safety. That choice seems like a betrayal to us," he said.