Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Nov. 26 after shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington, VT. A judge has ordered Eaton to be held without bond.
The students were identified as Hishawm Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad.
According to the Burlington police department, the students were walking together on Nov. 25 when they were confronted by Eaton, who opened fire and shot them with a handgun before fleeing the scene.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee released a statement saying that the college students were targeted because they were Palestinian American, and that there is “reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.”
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger held a press conference with Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad regarding the shooting.
Murad and Weinberger both expressed sympathies for the families of the victims. Murad stated during the press conference, “In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime.” Murad went on to say that the Burlington police department has already been in touch with federal investigatory and prosecutorial partners to assist in the investigation.
The Vermont-New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement saying, “we are in solidarity with the students, their families and all those affected by this clear act of hate.” They went on to urge the Burlington police department to investigate the shooting as a hate crime.
The attack happened amid a reported rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias incidents in the U.S. since the war between Israel and Hamas ignited last month.
Last month a landlord was charged with a hate crime after fatally stabbing a six-year-old Muslim boy in suburban Chicago, with police stating he singled out the family because of their faith.
A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has formed over the last week as hostages are exchanged between the two groups.
