USA: Shots fired at three men with Palestinian roots
Three men of Palestinian origin have been shot dead in the US state of Vermont. One of them was seriously injured, the condition of the other two is stable, police said.
The victims are three 20-year-old men of Palestinian descent with US citizenship or a residence permit in the USA. According to the police, they were wearing Palestinian scarves when they were attacked. There is no information yet on the perpetrator's motive, the police said.
Four shots fired
The 20-year-olds were on their way to a Thanksgiving party at a relative's home in the city of Burlington on Saturday evening. The shooter, a white man, fired four shots at them - without saying a word - and fled, they said.
In the current charged times, it could not be ruled out "that it may have been a hate-motivated crime", said police chief Jon Murad. However, he warned against jumping to conclusions. "The fact is that we don't know as much as we would like to at the moment."
A 48-year-old man was arrested near the scene of the attack on Sunday afternoon, US media reported, citing the police. A search of his home gave investigators "reasonable grounds to believe" that the 48-year-old had fired the shots, they said. An indictment in court is expected. The White House said that US President Joe Biden had been informed about the incident in Burlington.
The shooting incident in Vermont has raised concerns about potential hate-motivated crimes, given the victims were wearing Palestinian scarves. The 20-year-olds, all of Palestinian origin and either US citizens or residents, were attending a Thanksgiving party when they were targeted with four shots by an unidentified white man.
Source: www.dpa.com
