One of three Palestinian college students shot while walking in Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend is now paralyzed from the chest down after one of the bullets lodged in his spine, his family said.
Brown University math major Hisham Awartani, 20, is expected to be released from the hospital next week and enter rehabilitation, his mother, Elizabeth Price, told CNN.
“We believe that Hisham will face this challenge with the same determination that I witnessed this week,” Price told the outlet, noting that the family has started a GoFundMe to help offset the Ivy League junior’s current medical expenses and new “adjustment needs.” “
The funds will also help cover costs related to his family’s rehabilitation and air travel, he said.
Awartani and two friends – Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad – were visiting Burlington on holiday when the horrific shooting happened.
The three young men – who grew up together in the West Bank – were out for a walk and chatting in a mix of English and Arabic when Jason Eaton, 48, allegedly opened fire on the group, CNN said.
Brown University student Hisham Awartani is now paralyzed from the chest down after being shot last weekend, his mother said. Facebook/Hisham Awartani
Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, or traditional Palestinian scarves, at the time of the shooting, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad told the outlet.
Authorities are still investigating whether the shooting may have been a hate crime.
Abdalhamid and Ahmad were attacked in the upper body and lower legs and were hospitalized in the ICU, the police added.
One of the victims was released from the hospital on Monday, a source close to the family told CNN.
On Tuesday evening, Abdalhamid’s parents released a statement saying they were “very relieved” that their son would recover but “know that this tragedy will shape the rest of our lives.”
“Kinnan told us that he was afraid to leave the hospital. Our son may be physically fit to leave the hospital, but he is still shocked by this horrific attack,” they said.
Awartani, 20, will be released from hospital to undergo rehabilitation this week. Instagram/Hisham Awartani
Price told CNN on Saturday, “It’s been a heartbreaking and difficult six days, but it’s also been an amazing and amazing time — seeing firsthand Hisham and two of his childhood friends meet this experience with resilience, strength and even deep concern for others.
“And secondly to see and feel the incredible support from around the world, including messages of love and support from many of you.”
In the days after the attack, Awartani told his mother that he “suddenly found himself on the ground” when shots rang out, and that he heard one of his friends “screaming in pain” from a chest wound, Price explained.
The third victim believed his friend was dead and tried to run away and seek help, he told CNN.
The shooter briefly stood over the three men, and Awartani was convinced he would “keep shooting them and kill them,” his mother said.
Hisham Awartani grew up in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. GoFundMe
Awartani was finally able to call 911 when the shooter took off.
Earlier this week, Price told CNN that her son — a junior at Brown University — had an “incomplete spinal cord injury,” meaning he could feel his legs but couldn’t move them.
He also broke his collarbone, or collarbone, and broke his thumb in the incident, he said.
Awartani will now spend up to four weeks in spinal trauma care, followed by months of physical therapy, Price said.
The three friends were staying with Awartani’s uncle, Rich Price, at the time of the shooting, the uncle told CNN.
Just hours before the heinous act, they attended a birthday party for Rich Price’s 8-year-old twins.
Awartani, Abdalhamid and Ahmad were born shortly before the end of the Second Intifada and grew up together in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, CNN reported.
They graduated from Sekolah Rakan Ramallah, said the head of the school, Rania Maayeh, to the outlet.
Suspect Jason Eaton has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. via REUTERS
“They grew up under military occupation, and who would have imagined that they would come to a place like this to celebrate Thanksgiving and this is when their lives would be in danger?” Rich Price told CNN.
Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday, Abdalhamid said the shooting was part of a “larger issue of hatred against Palestinians” – particularly in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7.
“We have a very, very strong sense of community. And, it was quite a ripple throughout,” he said.
“And that is why every Palestinian is now in grief for what is happening in Gaza, especially 1701629828 that the ceasefire has ended,” he said, referring to the temporary peace lull that lasted about a week.
Eaton was arrested on November 26 and charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
(From left) Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani, pictured. AP
The victim’s loved ones and some civil rights groups are calling on Vermont investigators to treat the case as a hate crime.
“This is really a hateful act. But whether or not we can cross the legal threshold to determine that it is a hate crime is a different matter,” Murad told CNN last week.
The victim’s family said in a statement, “We believe a full investigation will likely show that our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian citizens.
“Our children, Palestinian children, like everyone else, deserve to feel safe.”
Beshara Doumani, a professor of Palestinian Studies at Brown, read a text message from Awartani during a vigil in his honor on campus.
“Who knew that all I had to do to become famous was get shot?” the young man joked in the message.
Those who know Awartani well, Doumani said, must have expected the cheerful comment.
Hisham Awartani is shown here with mother Elizabeth Price. Family Distribution
“On a more serious note, it’s important to realize that this is part of a bigger story,” the message continued.
“This horrific crime did not happen in a vacuum. I, what Hisham is talking about, said about a month ago that the Palestinians cannot afford to be on guard every time this happens.
“As much as I appreciate and love all of you here today, I am just one casualty of this wider conflict.”
If he had been shot at home, in the West Bank, “the medical services that saved my life here might have been withheld by the Israeli army,” Awartani claimed.
“The soldier who would shoot me would go home and never be convicted.” he added.
Despite the struggles of her new reality, Awartani is so involved with her studies at chocolate — where she’s studying for a double degree in math and archeology — that she’s determined to return next semester “on time,” her family’s GoFundMe said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
