Haverford student shot in possible Vermont hate crime recalls ‘moving in a nightmare’

Kinnan Abdalhamid, the Haverford College student shot during the Thanksgiving holiday in Vermont — in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime — said a friend’s screams were what signaled him to run as a stranger chased and shot his group of friends with a gun.

The 20-year-old biology student shared details of the harrowing attack on him, Hisham Awartani, and Tahseen Ahmed on The View Thursday, joined by his mother.

Abdalhamid, who is Palestinian, said the group of friends was driving to Awartani’s grandmother’s house in Burlington from a bowling alley on Saturday. Before stepping into the home, the group decided to take a walk.

Abdalhamid said his friends were wearing keffiyehs and they were speaking a mixture of Arabic and English during the walk. As they returned to the house, they saw a man whom police identified as Jason J. Eaton, 48, on his porch, which Abdalhamid said is on the same street Awartani’s grandmother lives on.

Abdalhamid said “without a word” or hesitation, Eaton ran down his porch steps, pulled out a pistol, and started shooting.

“It was almost surreal how quickly he did it,” said Abdalhamid. “I still kind of remember it and even at the moment it was kind of moving in a nightmare.”

Abdalhamid said Ahmed was the first to be shot, falling with a thud. Then came the screams. A split second later another shot rang out and Awartani fell, though Abdalhamid said the scene was so chaotic he didn’t know which of his friends had been struck.

Abdalhamid said he jumped a fence and hid behind a home for about a minute, fearing his friends were dead.

“They were shot point blank and he seemed like he was aiming to kill,” recalled Abdalhamid. “I thought he might have shot them again.”

Abdalhamid said he decided he needed to call 911 because Eaton might still be looking for him and because it would be the best chance of his friends’ survival.

Eaton was taken into custody the following day. Authorities found a Ruger .380 pistol with red-tipped ammunition, which they allege were used in the attack. He faces three counts of attempted murder, which could carry a life sentence in Vermont. Eaton has pleaded not guilty.

Abdalhamid is out of the hospital now, something he’s not sure he would’ve been able to do had Eaton remained at large. Relatives of Awartani and Ahmed told Vermont Public, the state’s NPR member station, that they remain hospitalized.

Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent vow to eradicate the group, there’s been a reported increase in harassment against Jewish and Muslim Americans.

Tamara Tamimi, Abdalhamid’s mother, said she sent her son to the United States because she wanted him to receive a good liberal arts education and because he would be safer. Tamimi described the incident as traumatizing and frightening. She added that she feels there is no place Palestinians are safe and they continue to be dehumanized in the media.

Eaton, according to his mother, has a history of depression and other mental health issues. Tamimi bristled at what she sees as a focus on Eaton’s mental health.

“Let’s not give this man an excuse,” she said.

Through the Institute for Middle East Understanding, the families of the victims have called on authorities to designate the shooting a hate crime. So have some of Abdalhamid’s Haverford College peers.

Abdalhamid said he’s been overwhelmed by the support.

“I didn’t expect the story about a Palestinian being shot to go this far and wide,” he said.