An unsettling question remains after the shooting in Burlington, Vermont: Why?

 An unsettling question remains after the shooting in Burlington, Vermont: Why?

Police in the US state of Vermont swiftly made arrests after the shooting of three students who were of Palestinian descent by a shooter. However, days later, they're still investigating and claim that not enough evidence has been gathered to classify it as a hate crime.

Jason Eaton remained silent when he reportedly approached three young guys with pistols on Saturday night in a quiet Burlington area.

He then allegedly fired at least four close-range shots, striking every pupil, according to the police.

At a time when emotions over the Israel-Gaza conflict are growing, the victims' relatives, who were not injured in the shooting, think the incident was a premeditated hate crime.

The three guys, Hisham Awtani, Tahseen Aliahmad, and Kinnan Abdelhamid, were shot on a street close to the University of Vermont campus while speaking a mix of Arabic and English. Additionally, two of them were wearing the customary Palestinian scarf, a keffiyeh.

The families of the men released a statement on Tuesday saying, "We have no doubt that our sons were targeted simply because they were Palestinians."

Mr. Avartani's mother told the BBC that she thought the incident was a hate crime. Mr. Avartani was shot in the spine, leaving him the most critically wounded of the three.

"Those who were different from this man were not accepted." And after the shooting, he wanted to destroy them," recalled Elizabeth Price, who had returned to Vermont from her home in the West Bank.

Although there is enough evidence from the police to support their belief that Mr. Eaton shot the 20-year-old, the reason for the suspected purpose is still unknown.

The shooter did not reveal his objectives throughout the assault because he remained silent. Furthermore, there are no obvious hints as to what could have prompted the shooting, despite the suspect's voluminous internet writings being reviewed by the BBC and his relatives and neighbors being interviewed.

After being taken into custody, Mr. Eaton was charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder. On Monday, he entered a not guilty plea.

John Murad, the chief of police in Burlington, said during a subsequent news conference: "We still don't know as much as we want to know." He also advised people not to draw hasty assumptions.

If found guilty, Mr. Eaton may get a term ranging from 20 years to life in prison under Vermont law. An increased jail term may be imposed if it is determined that the assault qualified as a hate crime. The FBI may decide to bring federal charges when they start their investigation.

Prosecutors must, however, gather proof showing the suspect's bias or prejudice against a particular group served as the driving force behind the assault in order to establish that a hate crime was committed; so far, this need has been reached in this instance. It has proven to be challenging.

Regarding Mr. Eaton, not much is known in his Burlington neighborhood. On North Prospect Street, where older family residences and student housing coexist, the 48-year-old guy resided on the second story of an ancient boarding house.

Following their return from a birthday celebration for Mr. Avartani's eight-year-old twin cousins at a nearby bowling alley, three individuals were shot just outside Mr. Eaton's home.

A longtime resident of the neighborhood who lives across the street from Mr. Eaton told the BBC she had never seen or known him before. He had just arrived, according to the police, from Syracuse, New York.

A student who saw the shooting and lives two houses down, Gabby Caforia, claimed she didn't know who Mr. Eaton was either. "It's all depressing, and I don't feel safe there anymore," Ms. Caforia said.

A "Neighbors Stand Against Hate" banner is displayed outside the Burlington Friends Meeting House in Burlington, Vermont. This is the same street where three college students who are Palestinian-American were shot over the weekend.

Hours after the incident, when detectives went to see Mr. Eaton at his residence, they claim he stretched out his hands and said, "I was waiting for you."

He said he wanted a lawyer when federal authorities asked him why. Authorities discovered ammo identical to what was discovered at the murder site, along with a pistol he had just acquired, inside his residence. Additionally, a computer was confiscated, and the police said they will look for it to determine the reason.

The suspect's mother, Mary Reed, said in an interview with The Daily Beast that she had seen him two days before during Thanksgiving, but he had not brought up the Israel-Gaza conflict over dinner. She said that despite being a "very religious person," her kid suffered from depression.

In a statement to the BBC, his most recent employment, CUSO Financial Services, said that he was let go on November 8. There are also little hints of any potential motivation on social media. He often commented on politics, farming, and money matters on his website and social media sites.

A few of his works addressed conspiratorial topics, such as pseudoscientific arguments against vaccinations and probable allusions to "New World Order" conspiracies, which contend that there are covert preparations to establish an authoritarian global government.

He calls himself "kicking out moneylenders since 2003" on his website, perhaps alluding to a passage from the Bible. Some sections on his website seem to be critical of usury, or the practice of collecting interest on loans, and "fiat money," or the currencies that are typically used as opposed to digital tokens like gold and Bitcoin.

The student, an American-Palestinian, stated, "Grandma, I got shot."

Vermont gunshot victim leaps fence to flee, and the gunman in Burlington claims to be innocent

However, the majority of Mr. Eaton's publicly accessible postings lack any indication of the overt ideological motive, intense animosity against race and ethnicity, or visceral hate that characterizes the writings of previous mass shooters.

Authorities in Plainfield, Illinois, on the other hand, took a while to declare last month's attempted murder of a six-year-old Palestinian kid and his mother a hate crime.

In another instance, the suspect, Joseph Czuba, had become more angry about the Israel–Hamas war, according to the prosecution. Court records, which reference an interview with his spouse, state that Mr. Czuba was worried about rumors of a "National Jihad Day" on October 13 and often listened to conservative talk radio.

Prosecutors said that the next day, he assaulted his roommates, Hanan Shaheen and her son Wadia al-Fayoum, after a dispute concerning the Middle East.

Mr. Kazuba will go on trial in 2019 after entering a not guilty plea to charges of murder and hate crimes.

Accused murderers have left lengthy web messages or papers that reveal their intentions in several other instances.

The county's chief prosecutor, Sarah George, recognized the need for further proof before bringing hate crime charges at a news conference on Monday in Burlington. "I want to make it clear that there is no doubt that this was a despicable act," she said.

The BBC was informed by Mr. Awartani's uncle Rich Price that his family had a strong belief in the justice system. "I think from a legal perspective, the bar to prove that this was a hate crime is quite high," said Mr. Price.

"However, it is undeniably evident that these boys were singled out due to their appearance, language, and attire."

Mr. Price said that the incident brought to light animosity and resentment in the US, especially in view of the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment brought about by the continuing Israel-Gaza conflict.

Additionally, the victims' relatives said that there was no excuse for "this heinous and hate crime" in response to studies examining Mr. Eaton's past and motivation.

"One of our children will probably never walk again, while the others will all live with this trauma for the rest of their lives," he said.