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A rock painted with the word "peace" sits in the covered walkway outside the Trinity College Chapel while an informal vigil was held inside for Trinity student Tahseen Ahmad, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford College and Hisham Awartani of Brown University. Credit: Tyler Russell / Connecticut Public

A Trinity College student is in stable condition after being shot along with two other men of Palestinian descent in Vermont Saturday night.

Tahseen Ahmad and two other students — all of whom are studying in the U.S. — were shot in Burlington. Local police said they arrested a man in connection with the shooting.

Ahmad was hospitalized in stable condition, Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney said in a note to the campus community.

She said a member of the Trinity Student Life staff went to Vermont early Monday morning to provide support.

“We were heartbroken to receive word late last night that Tahseen Aliahmad ’26, a Trinity College student, was one of three victims of gun violence in Burlington, Vermont,” Berger-Sweeney said.

As of midday Sunday, the Burlington Police Department said two of the men were in stable condition, while the third had sustained more serious injuries.

The man accused of shooting them has pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted second degree murder.

Jason Eaton, of Burlington, was arraigned in Chittenden County Superior Court Monday morning. He’ll be held in prison without bail, and a hearing will be scheduled in coming days to decide whether he should continue to be held without bail.

The three college students, all age 20, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victims’ relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said.

Officers found the wounded men and they were sent to area hospitals.

Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad noted in a statement that all three men are of Palestinian descent.

“Two are US citizens and one is a legal resident. Two were wearing keffiyehs at the time of the assault,” Murad wrote, in reference to the traditional Palestinian scarf. “At this time, there is no additional information to suggest the suspect’s motive, such as statements or remarks by the suspect.”

The victims’ families and civil rights organizations are calling on Vermont law enforcement to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.

The FBI in Albany, New York, posted a statement late Sunday on X saying the bureau is actively investigating the shooting with the Burlington Police Department, the ATF and other federal, state and local agencies.

The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and would continue to receive law enforcement updates.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction of the person or people responsible for the shootings.

Learn more about the shooting here.

The Associated Press and Vermont Public contributed to this report.

This story was first published by Connecticut Public on Nov. 27, 2023.