Vermont Jury Convicts Jason Eaton of Attempted Murder in Shooting of Three Palestinian Students

A jury in Burlington, Vermont, convicted Jason Eaton of attempted second-degree murder on all three counts Monday, rejecting an insanity defense in the shooting of three Palestinian college students that drew national attention to campus safety and anti-Arab bias nearly three years ago. The verdict, delivered after a six-day trial in Chittenden Superior Court's criminal division, closes the guilt phase of one of the most closely watched violent-crime prosecutions in Vermont's recent history.

Jurors deliberated for roughly two hours before returning guilty verdicts against Eaton, 51, for the November 25, 2023, shooting of Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmad as the three 20-year-old friends walked near his apartment during a Thanksgiving visit to Burlington. Awartani was left paralyzed from the waist down; Aliahmad and Abdalhamid were wounded and later treated and released. Vermont's Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs confirmed the outcome in a statement, calling the case one built on "truth" brought to light through the work of Burlington police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

What the verdict means

Eaton was convicted on three counts of attempted second-degree murder, the charge prosecutors brought instead of a hate crime enhancement, after concluding they lacked sufficient evidence to prove the shooting was motivated by anti-Palestinian bias, even though two of the three victims were wearing keffiyehs, the traditional Palestinian scarf, at the time. He faces a statutory maximum of life without parole and a presumptive minimum of 20 years to serve on each count. Judge John Pacht ordered Eaton held without bail pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. The three men had grown up together as schoolmates in Ramallah, in the West Bank, before enrolling at Brown University, Haverford College and Trinity College.

Prosecutors told jurors that Eaton bought a .380-caliber Ruger handgun seven months before the shooting and opened fire on the three men without warning as they walked past his home speaking a mix of English and Arabic. Crime lab testing tied that weapon, one of several firearms recovered from his apartment, to the shooting. A recorded jailhouse conversation played for the jury captured Eaton describing voices he attributed to the CIA, Mossad or God directing him to "stop" the men, according to trial coverage from VTDigger's account of the verdict.

How the case reached trial

The shooting occurred three weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, at a moment when Vermont officials were already fielding reports of bias-driven threats. Governor Phil Scott called the attack "a tragedy" in a statement issued the day after the shooting, and the case quickly became a flashpoint in a national debate over safety for Arab and Muslim students on American campuses. Eaton was arrested within a day, and the FBI and ATF opened a parallel investigation into whether the shooting qualified as a federal hate crime, an inquiry that never produced charges; Vermont prosecutors likewise concluded they could not prove bias beyond a reasonable doubt and charged Eaton only with attempted second-degree murder under state law. His defense argued at trial that he was legally insane at the time, citing a psychotic break that followed the loss of his job at a credit union two weeks before the shooting. A defense psychiatrist testified Eaton suffered from a delusional disorder; a prosecution expert countered that he had a narcissistic personality disorder and was acting out of anger and substance use rather than psychosis. The jury sided with the state's theory, finding him criminally responsible.

Who was affected

All three victims, now 23, testified during the trial about the shooting and its aftermath, according to reporting from the PBS NewsHour's coverage of the case. Awartani, struck in the chest in a shot that ricocheted off his scapula, uses a wheelchair and has continued his studies at Brown University since the attack. Aliahmad was hit near the collarbone and Abdalhamid was shot in the buttock as he fled; both recovered from their physical wounds. Beyond the three men, the case reverberated through university communities in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and through Burlington's small but visible Palestinian and Arab American community, which held vigils in the shooting's immediate aftermath and again in recent days as the trial concluded.

Reaction to the verdict

Outside the courthouse Monday, Elizabeth Price, Awartani's mother, read a statement on behalf of the three families.

"Justice has been rendered for Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen. After three years of sorrow, loss and struggle, our families finally feel relief."

Price added that the verdict could not undo the harm caused by the shooting but confirmed that "Eaton is responsible for what he did," a rejection of the defense's insanity argument that she said mattered to the families regardless of the absence of a hate-crime charge. Awartani and Aliahmad, seated in the courtroom gallery for the verdict, embraced supporters after it was read, according to the WBUR report on the courtroom scene. State prosecutors, in their statement, thanked jurors, investigators and the victims, saying it had been "one of the greatest honors" to bring the case to a resolution on their behalf.

What happens next

A sentencing hearing has not yet been set in Chittenden Superior Court, and Eaton remains held without bail. Under Vermont's sentencing structure for attempted second-degree murder, the court could impose consecutive or concurrent terms on the three counts, meaning his ultimate exposure could range from the 20-year presumptive minimum on a single count up to consecutive life sentences if the judge orders the terms served one after another. Because no hate-crime charge was ever filed at the state or federal level, sentencing will turn solely on the attempted-murder convictions and any aggravating factors prosecutors raise, such as the use of a firearm and the severity of Awartani's injuries. Attorneys for both sides did not indicate an appeal was planned in the immediate aftermath of the verdict, though defendants convicted after an unsuccessful insanity defense in Vermont retain the right to challenge the verdict once sentencing concludes.