Photo: Institute for Middle East Understanding
Authorities in Vermont arrested a man in connection with the shooting of three Palestinian college students over the weekend. Jason J. Eaton, 48, was taken into custody on Sunday (November 26) afternoon.
Authorities said that Eaton lives in an apartment building near where the shooting took place. During a search of his apartment, investigators discovered evidence that gave them "probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton perpetrated the shooting."
Eaton was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Monday.
The victims, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ahmad, were in Burlington to celebrate Thanksgiving with Awartani's grandmother. The trio of 20-year-old college students were walking down the street on Saturday night when a man confronted them with a handgun. He fired several shots before fleeing.
All three were rushed to the hospital and are expected to survive. Officials said that two of the men were in stable condition and noted that the third victim suffered "much more serious injuries."