Vermont man convicted in shooting of 3 Palestinian students

BURLINGTON, VT — A Vermont jury on Sept. 21 convicted a man of attempted murder in the 2023 shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent, rejecting his team's insanity defense in a case that drew national attention amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Jurors found Jason Eaton, 51, guilty on three counts of attempted second-degree murder in the Nov. 25, 2023, attack on Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid in Burlington, Vermont. The verdict came after about two hours of deliberations following a six-day trial.

The three victims, who were visiting Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday, were speaking a mix of Arabic and English and wearing traditional Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs when they were shot, according to prosecutors.

Though Eaton pleaded not guilty, he did not dispute that he shot the three students. His defense argued that he was legally insane at the time of the attack, citing his claims that U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies directed him to carry out the shooting through radio and that God had instructed him to protect Jewish neighbors.

"Today's verdict affirms that our justice system works best when truth is brought to light and accountability is upheld," Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/