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Vermont Jury Convicts Man Who Shot 3 Palestinian Students
(MENAFN) A Vermont jury has convicted Jason Eaton, 51, of attempted murder for opening fire on three Palestinian college students near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington in November 2023, media reported Monday.
Eaton now faces up to life in prison. The shooting left Hisham Awartani paralyzed from the waist down and wounded his friends Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid.
Jurors reached their verdict after several hours of deliberation, capping a week-long trial that featured testimony from all three victims along with psychiatric experts for both the prosecution and defense. Eaton never disputed that he was the shooter, but pleaded not guilty, arguing he bore no criminal responsibility due to his mental state at the time.
His defense team cited Eaton's claims that US and Israeli intelligence agencies had transmitted orders to shoot the men through FM radio signals, and that he believed God had instructed him to protect his Jewish neighbors. Jurors rejected the insanity defense.
Eaton was ordered held in jail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. He stared straight ahead as the verdict was read, while Awartani and Aliahmad, seated in the front row, smiled and embraced those around them.
"Justice has been rendered for Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen. After three years of sorrow, loss and struggle, our families finally feel relief," the families said in a joint statement.
They said the verdict cannot undo the trauma but "affirms something fundamental: Jason Eaton is responsible for what he did."
The families also said Eaton repeatedly used "hateful" language about their sons throughout the trial, arguing his own words made clear why the young men were targeted.
"This was a hate crime. We have said so from the beginning," they said.
The families expressed gratitude to supporters across Burlington and Vermont, while also drawing attention to the wider suffering endured by Palestinians.
"While our children fought to heal from being shot in Burlington, they watched Palestinian children lose their lives, their homes, their land, their families," they said. "Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen have spent three years rebuilding their bodies and their lives after a hateful act almost killed them. We are profoundly relieved."
Eaton now faces up to life in prison. The shooting left Hisham Awartani paralyzed from the waist down and wounded his friends Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid.
Jurors reached their verdict after several hours of deliberation, capping a week-long trial that featured testimony from all three victims along with psychiatric experts for both the prosecution and defense. Eaton never disputed that he was the shooter, but pleaded not guilty, arguing he bore no criminal responsibility due to his mental state at the time.
His defense team cited Eaton's claims that US and Israeli intelligence agencies had transmitted orders to shoot the men through FM radio signals, and that he believed God had instructed him to protect his Jewish neighbors. Jurors rejected the insanity defense.
Eaton was ordered held in jail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. He stared straight ahead as the verdict was read, while Awartani and Aliahmad, seated in the front row, smiled and embraced those around them.
"Justice has been rendered for Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen. After three years of sorrow, loss and struggle, our families finally feel relief," the families said in a joint statement.
They said the verdict cannot undo the trauma but "affirms something fundamental: Jason Eaton is responsible for what he did."
The families also said Eaton repeatedly used "hateful" language about their sons throughout the trial, arguing his own words made clear why the young men were targeted.
"This was a hate crime. We have said so from the beginning," they said.
The families expressed gratitude to supporters across Burlington and Vermont, while also drawing attention to the wider suffering endured by Palestinians.
"While our children fought to heal from being shot in Burlington, they watched Palestinian children lose their lives, their homes, their land, their families," they said. "Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen have spent three years rebuilding their bodies and their lives after a hateful act almost killed them. We are profoundly relieved."
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