Police arrest suspect in possible 'hate-motivated' shooting of three Palestinian students

Police arrested a suspect in the shooting of three young men of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, in what authorities say is a possible hate crime.

Authorities took Jason Eaton, 48, into custody on Sunday afternoon after investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives encountered him during a canvass of the shooting location, according to a police press release.

The three 20-year-old students, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmad, were shot at around 6:25 p.m. on Saturday while visiting one victim's family on Prospect Street near the University of Vermont campus for a Thanksgiving get-together with Awartani's grandmother, he told police. Two victims were in stable condition, while one suffered serious injuries, police said.

Abdalhamid told police he is a Palestinian American and Palestine advocate. He said he traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend a march in support of Palestine, where he appeared on CBS News, according to an arrest affidavit for Eaton.

Eaton pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree murder during an arraignment before Judge A. Gregory Rainville in a Vermont courtroom on Monday. He appeared through a webcam and stared into the camera as he stated his name. Eaton, who is being held without bail, is being represented by a public defender.

Evidence collected during a search of Eaton's apartment near the shooting, along with evidence collected through interviews, canvasses, and other investigations, led police to believe Eaton was the shooter.

The Vermont Office of the Defender General declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY on Monday morning. Vermont's Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs told USA TODAY they could not disclose further information.

The Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank identified the three victims as school alumni and current students of Brown University, Haverford University, and Trinity University, according to a Facebook post.

A white male with a gray beard approached the trio while walking down the street and discharged at least four rounds of a pistol at them without speaking, according to the arrest affidavit for Eaton. One bullet lodged in a victim's spine and another in a second victim's chest, according to an affidavit. After the attack, the suspect fled on foot.

A witness told police he heard at least four gunshots and found the victims outside. He heard someone enter the common area of his apartment building and climb the stairs, according to court documents.

Eaton later told an ATF special agent who came to his house, "I've been waiting for you," before asking for an attorney. A search of Eaton's residence turned up a firearm.

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'Hate-motivated crime'

The victims wore keffiyahs, traditional Palestinian neck scarves, and were speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, leading authorities to investigate it as a possible hate crime. Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident, police said.

Burlington police have not yet identified a motive. If the shooting is identified as a hate crime, they will involve federal agencies to continue the investigation, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said in a press release on Sunday.

“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime," Murad said. “The fact is that we don’t yet know as much as we want to right now. But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less."

The FBI based in Albany, New York, said it is awaiting evidence that the shooting was a hate crime to begin its investigation. "If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate," it said in a statement.

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Organizations call for hate crime investigation

In a statement released on Sunday, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) said after reviewing initial reports it had "reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab." The organization called on the FBI, Justice Department, and local authorities in Vermont to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.

"Given the information collected and provided, it is clear that the hate was a motivating factor in this shooting, and we call on law enforcement to investigate it as such," ADC National Executive Director Abed Ayoub said. "The surge in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian sentiment we are experiencing is unprecedented, and this is another example of that hate turning violent.”

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, said in a post to X, "It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement, "It is deeply disturbing that three Palestinian students were shot last night in Vermont in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime."

"While we await additional information about the motivation for the shooting, it remains important that people of goodwill unequivocally denounce the startling rise of anti-Arab hate and Islamophobia in America," he added.

On Sunday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) offered a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. “Due to the unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate and violence we have witnessed in recent weeks, local, state and national law enforcement authorities must investigate a possible bias motive for the shooting of these three young men,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

Reports of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bias in the U.S. rose dramatically after Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel's ensuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip that killed 1,200 Israelis and more than 13,000 Palestinians respectively. CAIR received 1,283 requests for help and reports of anti-Muslim bias between Nov. 4 and the beginning of the war, a 216% increase over the previous year, according to a Nov. 9 press release.

A four-day ceasefire deal brokered with the help of U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari officials saw the temporary pause of fighting between Israel and Hamas on Friday. The deal also saw Hamas agree to release 50 of at least 240 hostages taken into Gaza on Oct. 7 in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Fourteen Israeli and three foreign national hostages of Hamas were released in the latest exchange on Sunday. Israel said it initiated the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners. Eleven more hostages are set for release on Monday.

Israel said it was open to an extension of the truce by one day for every 10 hostages released.

Contributing: Associated Press

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.