Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The man charged with shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont last year has been declared fit to stand trial, according to the judge presiding over the case.

The findings from a psychological evaluation of 49-year-old Jason Eaton were discussed during the hearing Tuesday, and the judge also gave defense attorneys more time to collect depositions.

Authorities say Eaton shot and seriously wounded Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad in Burlington on the evening of Nov. 25, 2023, as they were walking in his neighborhood near the University of Vermont.

The students, all age 20 at the time, were conversing in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, police said. The students say the shooter approached them and fired without saying a word.

Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities have increased across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Eaton pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder, and has been held without bail since he was arrested last year at his Burlington apartment. The three students’ families say the shooting should be treated as a hate crime, but prosecutors say they don’t have enough evidence to support that.

On Tuesday, Eaton’s attorney Peggy Jansch asked the court to push the deadline for depositions to June 2025, saying she wouldn’t be able to finish by the original Dec. 16 deadline.

Judge John Pacht set a May 31 deadline to conduct depositions. A status hearing was scheduled for early March.