A suspect was arrested on Sunday in connection with the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont.
Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday afternoon in connection with the shooting of Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ahmed, the Burlington Police Department said, according to CNN.
Eaton pleaded not guilty at a hearing on Monday. The judge overseeing the hearing ordered the suspect to be held without bail.
A suspect accused of shooting and wounding three 20-year-old men of Palestinian descent was ordered held without bail Monday morning. https://t.co/wWgUNyyyFq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 27, 2023
Eaton reportedly lives in an apartment building located in front of the scene of the shooting, authorities confirmed. A search conducted of the suspect’s apartment reportedly led to evidence being discovered that gave investigators “probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton perpetrated the shooting.”
Awartani, Abdalhamid, and Ahmed had reportedly been walking near the University of Vermont on their way to dinner when they were shot at four times and wounded. Two of the victims are reportedly in stable condition while the third sustained serious injuries from the shooting, according to authorities.
The Institute of Middle East Understanding issued statements on behalf of the victims’ families and said Awartani was a student at Brown University in Rhode Island, Abdalhamid was a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Ahmed was a student at Trinity College in Connecticut.
“The suspect walked up to them and shot them,” Abed Ayoub, an attorney for the victims’ families told the outlet. “They weren’t robbed, they weren’t mugged. It was a target shooting and a targeted crime.”
Two of the victims had reportedly been wearing keffiyehs, a Palestinian scarf.
Prior to the announcement of Eaton’s arrest, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger revealed there was a possibility the shooting may “have been motivated by hate.”
“That there is an indication this shooting could have been motivated by hate is chilling, and this possibility is being prioritized in the investigation,” Weinberger said in a statement.
Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, leaving more than 1,400 people and more than 200 people taken as hostages, tensions have risen regarding a rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim attacks.
On Oct. 14, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, was killed after being stabbed 26 times by his landlord in Chicago. Wadea’s mother, suffered injuries after being stabbed roughly a dozen times.