PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WHDH) - A crowd gathered at Brown University in Providence Monday for a vigil after a Brown University student was one of three Palestinian students injured in a shooting in Burlington, Vermont over the Thanksgiving holiday break.
The three 20-year-old students were visiting Brown University junior Hisham Awartani’s uncle in Burlington when police said 48-year-old Jason Eaton allegedly came down off a porch and, without speaking a word, fired at least four rounds before taking off on Saturday.
Eaton was arrested after the shooting and has since pleaded not guilty to charges against him. He was being held without bail on Monday.
Back in Providence, hundreds of people were in attendance at Monday’s vigil on the Brown University Main Green beginning around 4:30 p.m. The vigil wrapped up around 6 p.m. and students soon filtered out of the Main Green area.
Brown President Christina Paxson previously addressed the shooting in a letter to campus community members, saying she had been in touch with Awartani’s family. She continued, saying members of Brown’s support staff “have remained in close contact and are offering all the care that we can.”
“I call on our community to come together to condemn anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and acts of violence and hate, and express care and empathy for one another,” Paxson said, in part.
Paxson said she asked the Brown University Chaplain’s Office to organize Monday’s vigil and described the event as a “vigil for peace and healing.”
Speaking with reporters after the vigil, students said they gathered to stand in solidarity with their classmate.
“When everyone reads crazy things that happen on the news, it’s easy to separate yourself because, at the end of the day, it’s simply just the news,” said Brown senior Marc Fernandez. “But this reminded us that this could hit close to home.”
“This is about just an awful, awful thing that happened and you wouldn’t wish it upon anybody of any side, of any color, of anything,” said Brown University Sophomore Pascale Carvalho.
Awartani’s uncle, Rich Price, separately spoke on Monday, saying “I believe the family’s fear that this was motivated by hate, that these young men were targeted because they were Arabs.”
Awartani had a bullet lodged in his spine after the shooting but is expected to survive, according to his family.
The other victims, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and a lower-body wound, respectively. Both are expected to survive.
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tracked down Jason Eaton at his apartment on Sunday and spoke with him when he answered the door.
Officials said detectives subsequently obtained a warrant and found multiple firearms in Eaton’s house, including a Ruger. 380 handgun and ammunition. Ballistics testing later matched the Ruger to evidence found near the shooting scene, including shell casings, according to Burlington’s police chief.
Though hate crime charges could be added later, Eaton’s alleged motive was unclear on Monday after officials said detectives interviewed the victims.
“They had no knowledge of this individual, had not encountered him before,” said Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad.
Eaton’s latest court appearance on Monday was brief.
Speaking in court, the judge in the case said there will be a more extensive hearing in a few days.
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