Jason J. Eaton, 48, of Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States has been arrested. He is accused of shooting Hisham Awartani, 20, Kinnan Abdalhamid, 20, and Tahseen Ahmed, 20.
Awartani, Abdalhamid and Ahmed are Palestinians are attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, USA and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, respectively. Before enrolling in the U.S. universities, the three attended the Ramallah Friends Schools in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas led a series of coordinated attack from the Gaza Strip into bordering areas in Israel. The Gaza Strip is around 83 kilometers away from Ramallah.
On November 23, 2023, Awartani, Abdalhamid and Ahmed met in Burlington to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Awartani’s grandmother. On the evening of November 25, 2023, the three Palestinian men went on on a walk before dinner.
While Awartani, Abdalhamid and Ahmed were walking on Prospect Street in Burlington, they were attacked. Without speaking, Eaton allegedly approached and shot the three Palestinian men at least four times.
During the attack, two of the three victims were wearing kaffiyehs, the traditional Arab scarf associated with Palestinians. One of them is a legal U.S. resident while the other two are U.S. citizens.
Abdalhamid suffered minor injuries in the attack. Ahmed was shot in the chest.
After being shot near the spine, Awartani lost feeling in his legs. He, Abdalhamid and Ahmed remain hospitalized, according to the Burlington Police Department.
Right after the attack, Eaton allegedly fled on foot. He lived in an apartment building near the crime scene, which is also near the University of Vermont.
At around 3:30 p.m. on November 26, 2023, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents arrested Eaton in Burlington near the area where he allegedly shot the three Palestinian men. On November 27, 2023, he will be arraigned in court.
There are still no details about the charges Eaton is facing. His mugshot has yet to be released.
CONAN Daily 