Vermont jury convicts man in 2023 shooting of three Palestinian students

A Burlington, Vermont, jury convicted Jason Eaton of attempted murder after a weeklong trial. The jury rejected an insanity defense based on Eaton’s claims that he acted on orders from U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. [1][2]

The shooting occurred in November 2023 as the three students walked near Eaton’s home and the University of Vermont campus after dusk. Two were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, according to the Associated Press account. [1][2]

The victims were Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid, who were 20 at the time and had been visiting Awartani’s grandmother during Thanksgiving. They had previously been friends and schoolmates in Ramallah. [1][2]

The attack left Awartani paralyzed from the waist down and wounded Aliahmad and Abdalhamid. Their testimony formed part of a trial that also included competing psychiatric evidence about Eaton’s mental health and culpability. [1][2]

Eaton faces up to life in prison for the attack. The excerpts establish the conviction and maximum potential penalty but do not give a sentencing date or say whether prosecutors secured a separate hate-crime conviction. [1][2]