Suspect arrested in shooting of 3 students of Palestinian descent in Vermont, police say

Suspect arrested in shooting of 3 students of Palestinian descent in Vermont, police say

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was detained near the shooting, Burlington police said

ByKevin Shalvey and Jessica Gorman

November 27, 2023, 1:48 AM

A 48-year-old man was arrested on Sunday in connection with the shootings of three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday night, police said.

Jason J. Eaton was detained midday Sunday near the site of the shooting, the Burlington Police Department said in a press release. Police then searched his home and arrested him Sunday evening, officials said.

Eaton is expected to be arraigned Monday morning, police said.

Police search a house in the neighbourhood after a gunman shot and wounded three college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont, Nov. 25, 2023, in a still image from video.Wayne Savage via Reuters

The college students had been wounded Saturday night in a shooting in Burlington, the state's most populous city, by a gunman who opened fire at them “without speaking,” police had said in a statement on Sunday.

A preliminary investigation by the Burlington Police Department determined the three students, all in their 20s, were shot outside the home of one of the victim's relatives, which they were visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday, police said in a statement Sunday.

(L-R) Tahseen Ali Ahmed, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani in an undated image.Janeen Rishmawi, Communications, Institute of Middle East Understanding

Police detectives, county personnel and federal agents spent Sunday canvassing the neighborhood near the shooting and conducting interviews with neighbors, authorities said. The FBI helped with “victim services and computer and cellphone analysis,” officials said.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were canvassing near the location of the shooting at about 3:38 p.m. when they “encountered and detained” Eaton, Burlington officials said.

The shooting occurred in front of the apartment building where Eaton lived, police said. After he was detained, officials were granted a search warrant, which was executed at his residence at about 9:53 p.m., police said.

“Evidence collected during that search warrant, and additional evidence developed during the course of this investigation, gave investigators and prosecutors probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton perpetrated the shooting,” the said.

ABC News' Luke Barr, Deena Zaru and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this story.

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