The White House stated on Monday that President Joe Biden is “horrified” by the shooting deaths of three Palestinian-American university students in Vermont, which investigators consider to be a hate crime.

Reporters were informed by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that “the president and the first lady were horrified.” “These kids were celebrating Thanksgiving with their families and loved ones, adhering to a custom that is exclusive to the United States. Instead of being in a hospital room, they ought to be back at school with their peers.

Three young men of Palestinian heritage were shot on Saturday night during a Thanksgiving holiday get-together close to the University of Vermont campus. A suspect has been taken into custody by the police.

At 3:38 p.m. on Sunday, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was taken into custody by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during a search of the Burlington shooting location, according to a statement from the Burlington Police Department.

Authorities collected evidence during a search of Eaton’s apartment in a building in front of the shooting location. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, police said.

The attack that injured the three men around 6:25 p.m. Saturday may have been a hate crime, authorities previously said.

Two of the men were in stable condition and the other suffered “much more serious injuries,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a statement Sunday. The three, all age 20, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victim’s relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said.

“Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled,” Murad said. “All three victims were struck, two in their torsos and one in the lower extremities.”

The victims are all of Palestinian descent. Two are US citizens and the third is a legal resident. Two of the men were wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, Murad said.

The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy organization for Jewish people worldwide, also said via X it was “horrified” by the attack and urged “law enforcement to investigate this act as a possible hate crime.”