"Raising Funds and Fear: Gun Violence Plagues Burlington, Vermont"

More than $980,000 has been raised for the recovery of Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian student at Brown University who was left paralyzed from the chest down after being shot in an unprovoked attack in Vermont. Awartani and two friends were walking near the University of Vermont campus when they were shot by a white man. While officials have not labeled the shooting a hate crime, Awartani's family believes they were targeted. The fundraising page describes Awartani's remarkable courage and resilience, and his determination to continue his studies. The shooting comes amid a surge of hate crimes in the US, and the attack has drawn widespread condemnation.