Brown University community to gather for vigil in honor of student hurt in Vermont shooting

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Brown University community will gather for a vigil Monday in honor of a student who was hurt in a possible hate crime shooting in Vermont.

In a letter to the school community, President Christina Paxson invited the community to come together for a vigil for peace and healing at 4:30 p.m. on the Main Green.

Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown, and his friends, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Kinnan Abdalhami, were shot at a Thanksgiving celebration in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday.

All three men are of Palestinian descent.

Paxson wrote that the Awartani family “gave us permission to share the circumstances that Hisham is Palestinian Irish American, and that he and his two friends may have been targeted because of their Arab ancestry and identity.”

The Awartani family said Hisham remains in the hospital, and is expected to survive his injuries.

Vermont authorities said they arrested a suspect, 48-year-old Jason Eaton, who was found during a search of the shooting area on Sunday. Eaton is expected to be arraigned Monday.

Authorities previously said the attack is being investigated as a possible hate crime stemming from tensions around the Israel-Hamas war.

Paxson said many students and community members have expressed their worry for possible violence since the war began on Oct. 7.

A team of staff has been meeting with those concerned and providing support.

“There are not enough words to express the deep anguish I feel for Hisham, his parents and family members, and his friends. I know that this heinous and despicable act of violence — this latest evidence of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate spiraling across this country and around the world — will leave many in our community deeply shaken,” Paxson said in the letter.

“We know it will heighten concerns about personal safety and security for Palestinian and Arab members of our community,” she said.

Paxson said University personnel are in Burlington to offer support for Hisham and his family.

The families of all three men asked the community not to make donations or hold fundraisers unless specifically organized by the families. All the families have requested privacy at this time.