[Editor’s Note: This article was initially withheld from publication, per the request of the student’s family, as they asked all college community media to hold reporting.]
Shortly before going in for dinner at their friend’s grandparents’ house in Burlington, Vermont, three Palestinian students studying in the United States decided to take a walk, having no idea that their lives were about to be forever changed. As night slipped over the city on Saturday, November 25th, the two were found injured on North Prospect Street, lying together with gunshot wounds. The third person, Haverford student Kinnan Abdelhamid, was some distance away, having limped to get help.
These students were later identified by their alma mater, Ramallah Friends School, to be Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University; Tahseen Ahmed, a student at Trinity College; and Kinnan Kinnan Abdelhamid, a junior at Haverford College. Though none of the injuries were life-threatening, Hisham was shot in the back, Tahseen in the chest, and Kinnan sustained injuries to the lower extremities. They were on a simple walk around the neighborhood, dressed in the Palestinian keffiyeh and chattering to one another in a mixture of English and Arabic.
SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) at the University of Vermont stated that they have reason to believe this was a targeted hate crime, as all three students were visibly Palestinian and the man who committed the shooting reportedly harassed all three prior to opening fire, something corroborated by Awartani’s uncle Rich Price, with which the three students were staying with.
This comes as a horrifying shock to the Bi-Co community, in light of news that Israel and Hamas have begun to release hostages over the weekend, as well as the supposed reputation of Burlington as a progressive, left-wing town. Since Saturday, the crime has become front-page national news, with outlets such as CNN, The New York Times and NBC News giving coverage.
For the Bi-Co community, this tragedy hits especially close to home, as Kinnan is one of our own. A key organizer for Bi-Co SJP, Kinnan has been present at nearly every pro-Palestine rally on campus and in the greater Philadelphia area, and his labor has been essential in negotiating with Bi-Co administration surrounding the ongoing Palestinian genocide. Peers in SJP and JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace) describe him as a wonderfully kind soul, standing amidst the crowd at every rally with his keffiyeh and a shy smile.
Kinnan, who just days before left with many other Bi-Co students for what should have been a restful Thanksgiving break, has now found himself at the center of international news. Communities across the world are rallying in support of him and his friends, as even even the King of Jordan has offered to pay Hisham Awartani’s medical bills. Burlington hosted a vigil two days after the attack in support of the three as they recovered in the local hospital, and the local Vermont community has offered free accommodations for Awartani’s family for when they fly in to see him.
Two days after the attack, Kinnan was released from the hospital, entering into his new life after this trauma. In an interview with ABC Action News Philadelphia, Kinnan’s parents mentioned him feeling afraid to leave the hospital, especially as he leaves behind both of his friends who sustained more serious injuries. The most dire injuries from the attack were those of Hisham Awartani, who was hit in the back with a bullet and sustained damage to his spine. It is unknown at the moment whether he will walk again.
Despite his pain, Kinnan has continued to speak up for Palestine in the way he had before, saying in an article for The New York Times that he expects the attack will have a lasting on every Palestinian. For Kinnan, the instability of his home in the Palestinian West Bank and the rising anti-Palestinian violence in the United States, somewhere he was told would be safer, are a rock and a hard place, a betrayal of the achievement that Kinnan had stated, “made his parents proud.”
Hisham’s cousin, Basil Awartani, stated on X (formerly Twitter) the day after the attack, “My cousin Hisham has been shot in the back while walking with his friends in Burlington for simply wearing kuffiyehs and speaking Arabic. Dangerous performative rhetoric from US pundits and politicians as well as constant dehumanization of Palestinians has a real life cost.”
The suspect is in custody and has plead not guilty to a hate crime.
Students on both campuses have mobilized as a result of the attack.
