Jury Convicts Man Who Shot 3 Palestinian Students Near Home in Vermont

Jason Eaton claimed U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies sent him orders via an FM radio before the 2023 attack

NEED TO KNOW

• Jason Eaton was convicted of attempted murder in the November 2023 shooting of three Palestinian college students
• His lawyers argued that he believed the CIA and Mossad were sending him orders via an FM radio
• Hisham Awartani was left paralyzed from the waist down, while Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid were also wounded

A Vermont man has been convicted of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian college students as they walked near his Burlington home in November 2023.

A jury found Jason Eaton, 51, guilty on Monday, Sept. 21, rejecting his defense that he was legally insane at the time of the attack, the Associated Press reported.

Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid, who were all 20 years old at the time, were visiting Awartani’s grandmother for Thanksgiving when they were shot, according to the outlet.

The longtime friends, who grew up together in the West Bank city of Ramallah, were speaking a mix of Arabic and English as they walked near the University of Vermont campus. Two of them were wearing traditional Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs.

Awartani was shot in the chest and left paralyzed from the waist down. Aliahmad was struck in the collarbone, while Abdalhamid was shot in the right buttock.

Eaton did not dispute that he was the shooter; his attorneys argued that he had experienced a psychotic break and believed the CIA and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad were sending him orders through an FM radio, according to the AP.

Defense attorneys Margaret Jansch and Joshua O’Hara told jurors Eaton had struggled with mental health issues throughout his life and had been diagnosed with conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, depression and borderline personality disorder.

Prosecutor Sarah George, the Chittenden County state’s attorney, argued that Eaton was not legally insane and understood that his actions were criminal. She noted that he appeared nervous when police arrived at his home, repeatedly requested a lawyer and failed to disclose all of the weapons in his apartment.

Investigators found a Ruger .380-caliber handgun in a bedroom dresser, and crime laboratory testing determined it had been used in the shooting, George said.

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Awartani testified that Eaton was standing on a porch as the three friends approached his apartment building. Eaton walked toward them without speaking and began shooting from about 5 to 10 feet away, Awartani said.

Abdalhamid testified that he fled and hid behind another home after seeing Aliahmad fall. He said he did not realize he had also been shot until he later sat down.

After the verdict, Awartani’s mother, Elizabeth Price, said the decision held Eaton accountable but could not erase the damage caused by the attack.

“The verdict cannot undo what happened or erase the trauma our families still carry, but it affirms something fundamental: Jason Eaton is responsible for what he did,” Price told reporters.

No hate crime charges were filed in the case. But Price said Eaton’s remarks during the trial showed that he had targeted the students because of “his own prejudices,” per the AP.

Eaton stared ahead as the verdict was read in court. Judge John Pacht ordered him jailed pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled, the outlet reported.

He faces up to life in prison.