BURLINGTON, Vt. (NEWSnet/AP) — Far away from the war in Gaza, three students were enjoying another visit to Vermont, celebrating Thanksgiving and a pair of family birthdays. But the place their Palestinian families thought would be safe was anything but.

Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were out for a walk while visiting one of the victims’ relatives when a white man with a handgun shot them, police said.

Awartani’s uncle, Rich Price, was hosting the young men. His sister lives in the occupied West Bank, and he says people often ask him if he’s worried about her and his nephews and niece.

“And the reality is, as difficult as their life is, they are surrounded by an incredible sense of community,” Price said. “And tragic irony is not even the right phrase, but to have them come stay with me for Thanksgiving and have something like this happen speaks to the level of civic vitriol, speaks to the level of hatred that exists in some corners of this of this country. It speaks to a sickness of gun violence that exists in this country.”

Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown. Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut, said Rania Ma’ayeh, head of Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank where the three met in first grade. 

Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens. Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Ma’ayeh said.

“They are all just very, very close friends,” said Abdalhamid’s uncle, Radi Tamimi, at a news conference Monday in Burlington. His nephew grew up in the West Bank and “we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision.”

“We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and we’re just trying to come to terms with everything,” he said.

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested and held without bail on three counts of attempted murder. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf on Monday.

Two of the students were struck in their torsos, while one was hit in the lower body, Murad said. All three have been treated at University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said. One of the students has been released from the hospital, according to media reports.

A vigil was held Monday night at Brown University in Rhode Island, where Awartani, is a student.

NBC News reported that Awartani said in a statement that as much as he appreciates the love and support of the community, “I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict.”

U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are investigating whether Saturday’s gunfire qualifies as a hate crime.

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