Full Breakdown
Trial of Jason Eaton for Shooting Three Palestinian Students in Burlington
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
In November 2023, Jason Eaton, a 51-year-old Burlington resident, opened fire on three Palestinian college students—Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid—as they walked near the University of Vermont campus. All three were 20 at the time. Eaton was charged with three counts of second-degree attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and is currently on trial in Chittenden County Superior Court.
Background & Context
The shooting occurred weeks after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, a period marked by heightened tensions in the United States and abroad. The three victims grew up together in Ramallah before moving to the United States for university studies. Their walk that evening followed a birthday celebration at a local bowling alley and a visit to Awartani’s grandmother’s house. Two of the men wore traditional Palestinian keffiyehs during the walk.
Data & Statistics
- Victims’ injuries: Awartani was shot in the chest; the bullet ricocheted off his scapula, causing permanent paraplegia. Aliahmad sustained a collarbone wound. Abdalhamid was hit in the right buttock.
- Weapons: Police recovered a Ruger .380-caliber handgun—identified by crime-lab testing as the firearm used—and three shotguns from Eaton’s apartment.
- Firearms purchase: Eaton bought the handgun seven months before the incident from a Vermont gun store.
- Legal exposure: A conviction on the attempted-murder charges carries a potential life-sentence. A successful insanity defense could result in indefinite commitment to a state psychiatric facility.
Official Statements & Responses
- She noted that a state psychiatrist concluded Eaton lacked a mental disease or defect that would excuse his conduct.
- Defense attorney Joshua O’Hara (public defender) contended that Eaton suffered a “delusional, psychotic disorder” triggered by the loss of his credit-union job two weeks before the shooting. O’Hara said Eaton believed he was receiving covert messages from the CIA, Mossad and God via a local NPR broadcast, instructing him to protect a Jewish family across the street.
- Victim testimony: Awartani, now 23 and testifying from a wheelchair, described Eaton stepping off his porch, drawing a handgun at a distance of five to ten feet, and firing repeatedly. Aliahmad and Abdalhamid recounted seeking cover and the severity of their wounds. A neighbor, Jacob Pyne, reported hearing four to six gunshots and assisting the victims before calling 911.
Verbatim Quotes
- “If the defense tries to focus on the story that Mr. Eaton tells about why he intended to kill these three young men, that story is only part of the whole picture,” — Prosecutor Sally Adams, deputy state’s attorney
Potential Outcomes
If the jury finds Eaton guilty on all counts, he faces up to life imprisonment. Should the jury accept the insanity defense, he would be ordered to undergo treatment in a state psychiatric hospital for an indeterminate period. The trial has sparked public calls for hate-crime enhancements, though prosecutors have not filed such charges, citing insufficient evidence of anti-Palestinian bias as a motive.