A shooting in Burlington raises concerns about hate crimes; three Palestinian men were hurt, and an investigation is now underway.

Three 20-year-old Palestinian men were shot and hurt on Saturday near the University of Vermont. This is a disturbing event. A white man with a gun approached the victims while they were in town for Thanksgiving. The police think it was a hate crime.

PBS NewsHour reported that at around 6:25 p.m., shots were heard, and the attacker fired at least four rounds without speaking before running away. Three people were hurt very badly; two are in good health. Three men from Palestine; two are U.S. citizens and the third is a permanent resident.

The police are actively looking for the shooter. The victims, who were wearing keffiyeh scarves, were going to a relative’s house. As the investigation goes on, people are coming together to demand justice, and the police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

After the shooting in Burlington, Vermont, Police Chief Jon Murad said that there is no new information that points to a motivation for the suspect. He sent his respects to the victims and their families and said that he understood that the crime could have been driven by hate. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee thinks that the victims were shot because they are Arab and were talking in Arabic. The FBI knows about the killings and is ready to look into any possible federal violations.

President Joe Biden has been told about the shooting, and the White House is keeping an eye on what the police say next. There is a $10,000 prize from the Council on American-Islamic Relations for information that leads to an arrest or conviction. A number of politicians, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have spoken out against the attack and called for an end to anti-Arab hatred and division. In the U.S., protests and emotions are rising because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In the Middle East, a shaky cease-fire is still in place.