One of three Palestinian college students shot while hiking in Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend is now paralyzed from the chest down after one of the bullets lodged in his spine, his family says.
Hisham Awartani, a 20-year-old Brown University mathematics student, is expected to be released from the hospital next week and enter rehab, his mother, Elizabeth Price, told CNN.
“We believe Hisham will face this challenge with the same determination that I have 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 “needs.” of adaptation”. “
The fund will also help cover costs associated with his rehabilitation and his family’s air travel, he said.
Awartani and his two friends, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, were visiting Burlington for the holidays when the horrific shooting took place.
The three young men, who grew up together in the West Bank, were taking a walk and chatting in a mix of English and Arabic when Jason Eaton, 48, allegedly opened fire on the group, CNN said.
Hisham Awartani, a Brown University student, 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 headscarves, 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 injured in the upper torso and lower extremities and were hospitalized in the ICU, police added.
One of the victims was released from the hospital on Monday, a source close to the families told CNN.
On Tuesday night, Abdalhamid’s parents issued a statement saying they were “extremely relieved” that their son had recovered, but “know that this tragedy will mark the rest of our lives.”
“Kinnan told us he was afraid to leave the hospital. “Our son may be physically well enough to leave the hospital, but he is still in shock from this horrific attack,” they said.
Awartani, 20, will be released from the hospital for rehabilitation this week. Instagram/Hisham Awartani
Price told CNN on Saturday: “It has been a heartbreaking and difficult six days, but it has also been a remarkable and inspiring moment: first seeing Hisham and his two childhood friends face this experience with resilience, strength and even deep concern. for others.
“And secondly, seeing and feeling 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 the shots rang out, and that he heard one of his friends “screaming in pain” from a chest wound, Price said. .
The third victim believed his friends were already dead and tried to flee and get help, he told CNN.
The shooter briefly stood over the three men and Awartani was convinced he would “continue to shoot 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 left.
Earlier this week, Price told CNN that her son, a junior at Brown University, had an “incomplete spinal injury,” meaning he could feel his legs but couldn’t move them.
He also broke his collarbone or collarbone and fractured his thumb in the incident, he said.
Awartani will now spend up to four weeks undergoing spinal trauma treatment, 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 just before the end of the Second Intifada and grew up together in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, CNN reported.
They graduated from the Ramallah Friends School, the school’s director, Rania Maayeh, told the outlet.
Suspect Jason Eaton pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. Via REUTERS
“They grew up under military occupation, and who would imagine that they would come to a place like this to celebrate Thanksgiving and then their lives would be at risk?” Rich Price told CNN.
Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday, Abdalhamid said the shooting was part of “a larger problem related to hatred towards Palestinians,” especially in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7.
“We have a very, very strong sense of community. And, in a way, it spreads everywhere,” he said.
“And that is why all Palestinians right now are distressed by what is happening in Gaza, especially 1701695922 that the ceasefire is over,” he said, referring to the temporary peace pause that lasted about a week.
Eaton was arrested on Nov. 26 and charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
(From left) Tahseen Ali Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani, pose for a photograph. AP
Loved ones of the victims and multiple civil rights groups are calling on Vermont investigators to treat the case as a hate crime.
“This was absolutely an act of hate. 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 victims’ families have said in a statement: “We believe that a full investigation will likely demonstrate that our children were violently attacked simply for being Palestinians.
“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 at a vigil in his honor on campus.
“Who knew that all I had to do to be famous was get shot?” the young man joked in the message.
Those who know Awartani well, Doumani said, would have expected the jovial comment.
Hisham Awartani is shown here with his mother Elizabeth Price. family brochure
“On a more serious note, it is important to recognize that this is part of a larger story,” the message continued.
“This horrible crime did not occur in a vacuum. I, speaking of Hisham, said about a month ago that Palestinians cannot afford to hold vigils every time this happens.
“As much as I appreciate and love each of you here today, I am nothing more than a victim in this much larger conflict.”
If he had been shot at his home in the West Bank, “the medical services that saved my life here would probably have been withheld by the Israeli army,” Awartani alleged.
“The soldier who would have shot me would come home and never be convicted.” he added.
Despite the difficulties of his new reality, Awartani is so committed to his studies at Brown, where he is pursuing a double degree in mathematics and archeology, that he is determined to return next semester “on time,” his family’s GoFundMe noted.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn