Police arrest suspect in the shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent near the University of Vermont

Police arrested a suspect in the shooting of three men of Palestinian descent who were attending a Thanksgiving gathering near the University of Vermont campus Saturday evening.

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as they conducted a search of the shooting area in Burlington at 3:38 p.m. Sunday, the Burlington Police Department said in a statement.

Police collected evidence during a search of Eaton’s apartment in a building in front of the shooting location.

Mr. Eaton is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, police said.

Authorities said the three male students, all 20 years old, were found suffering from gunshot wounds just before 6:30 p.m. on North Prospect Street.

All three students are being treated at a nearby hospital. Police said Sunday that two of the victims are in stable condition, while a third is suffering from “much more serious injuries.”

Police said the young men were “confronted by a white male with a handgun” who fired four rounds at least at them “without speaking.”

Authorities believe the male suspect fled on foot.

Police said two of the victims are American citizens, and the third is a legal U.S. resident.

Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, or head scarves typically worn by men in Arab countries, at the time of the shooting.

“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement on the night of the shooting.

Ramallah Friends School, a private school with two campuses in the West Bank, said in a statement that the students were alumni of theirs and identified victims as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed.

The school said Mr. Awartani was shot in the back, Mr. Ahmed was shot in the chest and Mr. Hamid suffered minor injuries during the incident.

Ramallah Friends School said Mr. Awartani goes to Brown University, Mr. Ahmed attends Trinity College and Mr. Hamid studies at Haverford College.

“While we are relieved to know that they are alive, we remain uncertain about their condition and hold them in the light,” the school said in a statement. “We extend our thoughts and prayers to them and their families for a full recovery, especially considering the severity of injuries.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations had offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who has information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the shooter.

• This article was based in part on wire service reports.