‘IMMOBILIZED’

Palestinian Student Shot in Vermont May Never Walk Again, Mom Says

Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University, was shot along with two of his friends on a street in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday.

The mom of Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian student at Brown University who was shot along with two of his friends in Vermont over the weekend, told CNN on Tuesday that her son may never walk again. Elizabeth Price told the network that Awartani was shot in his back and suffered an “incomplete spinal injury,” which means he can feel his legs but can’t move them. “The last I knew, he was still in the ICU, immobilized,” she said. Price, who is still working to get from her home in Jordan to Vermont, said that the Jordanian King Abdullah II has offered to send his personal physician to treat Awartani. Authorities have arrested 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton for the shooting, which they said occurred without any provocation. Despite this, and the fact Awartani and his pals were wearing Keffiyeh headdresses and speaking Arabic as they walked down the street, Vermont authorities said Monday they did not have enough evidence to label the shooting a hate crime.