Palestinian Ivy League student shot in Vermont is paralyzed from chest down: mom

One of the three Palestinian college students shot while walking in Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend is now paralyzed from the chest down after one of the bullets became lodged in his spine, his family says.

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 meet this challenge with the same determination I’ve 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 “adaptive needs.”

The fund will also help cover costs associated with his rehabilitation and air travel of his family, she said.

Awartani and his two friends – Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad – were visiting Burlington for the holiday when the horrific shooting took place.

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.

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 struck in the upper torso and lower extremities and hospitalized in the ICU, police added.

One of the victims was released from the hospital Monday, a source close to the families told CNN.

On Tuesday evening, Abdalhamid’s parents released a statement saying they were “extremely 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 child may be physically well enough to be out of the hospital, but he is still shaken from this horrific attack,” they said.

Price told CNN on Saturday, “It’s been a gut-wrenching and difficult six days, but it’s also been a remarkable and awe-inspiring time — first to watch Hisham and his two childhood friends meet this experience with resilience, strength and even deep concern for others.

“And second to see and feel the incredible support from all over 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 with pain” from a chest wound, Price explained.

The third victim believed his friends were already dead and tried to run away and find help, she told CNN.

The shooter briefly stood over the three men, and Awartani was convinced he would “continue to shoot them and kill them,” his mom said.

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 injury,” meaning he could feel his legs but could not move them.

He also broke his clavicle, or collarbone, and fractured his thumb in the incident, she 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 a few 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, said the head of the school, Rania Maayeh, to the outlet.

“They grew up under military occupation, and who would imagine that they would come to a place like this to celebrate Thanksgiving and this is when 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 bigger issues regarding the hatred toward Palestinians” – especially in the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.

“We have a very, very strong sense of community. And, it kind of just ripples throughout,” he said.

“And that’s why every Palestinian right now is in anguish for what’s happening in Gaza, especially [now] that the cease-fire has ended,” he said, referring to the temporary peace pause that lasted about a week.

Eaton was arrested Nov. 26 and charged with three counts of attempted murder in the second degree.

He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

The victims’ loved ones and multiple civil rights groups are calling on Vermont investigators to treat the case as a hate crime.

“This absolutely was a hateful act. But whether or not we can cross the legal threshold in order 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 a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian.

“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 become famous was to get shot?” the young man jested in the message.

Those who know Awartani well, Doumani said, would have expected the jovial comment.

“On a more serious note, it’s important to recognize that this is part of the larger story,” the message continued.

“This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. I, meaning Hisham speaking, said about a month ago that Palestinians cannot afford to hold vigils every time this happens.

“As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much-wider conflict.”

If he had been shot at home, in the West Bank, “the medical services which saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army,” Awartani alleged.

“The soldier who would’ve shot me would go home and never be convicted.” he added.

Despite the struggles of his new reality, Awartani is so engaged with his studies at brown – where he is studying for a dual degree in math and archaeology – that he is determined to return for next semester “on time,” his family’s GoFundMe noted.