A Vermont jury on Monday convicted Jason Eaton, 51, of three counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington in November 2023, rejecting his insanity defense. He faces up to life without parole.
What the jury decided
The verdict came on the sixth day of a jury trial in Chittenden Superior Court that began Monday, Sept. 14, before Judge John Pacht. Vermont prosecutors said in a statement that the jury reached its verdict “after two hours of deliberation,” finding Eaton “guilty of all three counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder, rejecting his insanity defense.”
The defense did not dispute that Eaton fired the shots. A firearms expert testified that a Ruger handgun recovered from Eaton’s apartment matched casings and a bullet found at the scene, according to VTDigger’s trial account. The case instead turned on Eaton’s mental state at the time of the shooting. A defense expert testified that Eaton was legally insane, describing a psychotic disorder marked by delusions. A prosecution expert disagreed, testifying that Eaton was not legally insane and that he had acted out after smoking marijuana and drinking, under stress from a job loss, and that he met the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.
Jurors were also played a recording made five days after the shooting in which Eaton told his lawyers he had been hearing voices through a portable FM radio — voices he attributed to the CIA, the Israeli Mossad or possibly God — and that those voices told him to shoot, according to VTDigger’s account. VTDigger also reported that Eaton tried, midway through the trial, to fire his attorneys.
In her closing argument, State’s Attorney Sarah George told jurors, “Mr. Eaton wants you to believe that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, he has a psychotic disorder.” Defense attorney Margaret Jansch told jurors in her own closing, “I’m not trying to suggest that Mr. Eaton’s a victim here.”
The shooting and the victims
The shooting happened on Nov. 25, 2023, on North Prospect Street in Burlington. Prosecutors said the three students were on “a walk around the neighborhood when a man approached them with a firearm and started shooting at them.” According to the prosecutors’ statement, Hisham Awartani “was struck in the thumb and the chest, paralyzing him”; Tahseen Aliahmad “was struck in the chest”; and Kinnan Abdalhamid “was struck in the glute while running away.”
Two of the three were treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center and released; Awartani remains paralyzed. VTDigger reported that two of the three were wearing keffiyehs and were speaking a mix of English and Arabic as they walked past Eaton’s apartment. The shooting took place weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, VTDigger noted.
The hate-crime question
Eaton was not charged with a hate crime. In November 2024, George told reporters she did not expect to file a hate-crime enhancement because authorities had not turned up evidence to support one, WCAX reported. The victims’ families see it differently. Elizabeth Price, Awartani’s mother, said of the trial evidence, “We heard it in his own words. This was a hate crime.”
What families and prosecutors said
Speaking for the families after the verdict, Price said, “Justice has been rendered for Hisham, Kinnan and Tahseen. After three years of sorrow, loss and struggle, our families finally feel relief.” She said the verdict cannot undo what happened or erase the trauma the families still carry, but that it “affirms something fundamental: Jason Eaton is responsible for what he did.”
George told reporters after the verdict, “They listened to all of the evidence.” In their written statement, prosecutors said, “Today’s verdict affirms that our Justice system works best when truth is brought to light and accountability is upheld,” adding, “While no verdict can undo the pain caused, it can help restore a sense of safety and trust.” Defense lawyers declined to comment after the verdict, according to VTDigger.
What happens next
A sentencing date had not been set as of Monday. Prosecutors said Eaton faces “a sentence of up to life without parole, with a presumptive minimum term of 20 years to serve on each count.”
The case has now run nearly three years: Eaton was arrested by Burlington police on Nov. 26, 2023, the day after the shooting, and charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder. The trial began Sept. 14, 2026, and the jury returned its verdict Sept. 21, 2026.