A terrifying incident occurred in Burlington, Vermont, when three young Palestinian-American students were shot while taking a walk on Saturday evening. The details of the case have led many to speculate that the shooting was a hate crime. High-profile leaders have called on the authorities to investigate the alleged assailant’s motives.

The altercation occurred when the suspected gunman, who was later apprehended by law enforcement, approached the three young men, all aged 20, on a Burlington street at 6:30 p.m. and fired four shots. Two of the victims were hit in the torso, while the third was struck below the waist.

The 20-year-old men are all receiving medical care, according to a Sunday news release from the Burlington Police Department. “Two are stable, while one has sustained much more serious injuries.”

The students were walking on Prospect Street while visiting a relative in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday when “they were confronted by a white man with a handgun,” says the release.

“Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot,” police said.

Police said that two of the victims are US citizens and one is a legal resident.

Two of the three students were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, according to the police department. Two were shot in the torso and one in the “lower extremities.”

The families of the victims, along with members of the community, are devastated and believe that the shooting was motivated by bigotry. The suspect, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested after police searched his home and found probable cause to believe he carried out the attack.

A 48-year-old man was arrested on charges in connection with the shooting and wounding of three Palestinian students who were walking near the University of Vermont, police said Monday morning.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Jason Eaton, the suspect, told a federal agent as he answered the door at his Burlington, Vermont, on Sunday, according to court documents.

Eaton refused to identify himself to the agent, but did volunteer that there was a shotgun in the apartment, a court filing said.

Authorities had gone to Eaton’s apartment as part of a general canvass by police of the neighborhood, not because he was already a suspect, an official said at a press conference Monday.

A search by police of Eaton’s apartment later found a Ruger .380-caliber pistol and ammunition that matched the brand of shell casings found at the shooting scene on Saturday night in Burlington. That gun was purchased by him earlier this year, cops said.

The judge ordered that Eaton be held without bail during his arraignment Monday.

Authorities have not established an official motive for the shooting.