Guilty Verdict in Vermont Shooting of Three Palestinian Students, Explained

Jason Eaton, 51, was convicted on 21 September 2026 of three counts of attempted second-degree murder in the November 2023 shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont. Attempted second-degree murder means trying to kill without planning in advance. The jury reached its verdict after two hours of deliberation, according to Maine Public.

Eaton faces up to life in prison. He was ordered held in jail pending sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled, The Guardian reported.

The victims were Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid. The three men had grown up and become friends as schoolmates in Ramallah before moving to the United States for college. They were walking past Eaton near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington when he shot them. All three were college students at the time of the attack. Awartani was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Eaton pleaded not guilty but did not dispute that he was the shooter. His lawyers argued for not guilty by reason of insanity, a defense that says mental illness kept a person from understanding their actions. They cited claims that the CIA and Mossad had transmitted orders to shoot via FM radio.

Prosecutor Sally Adams served on the prosecution team in the Chittenden County trial, which concluded with the September verdict after proceedings that stretched nearly three years from the shooting. Eaton, then 48, was arraigned in Chittenden County Criminal Court in Burlington, appearing via video feed from the county jail, Reuters reported at the time. An arraignment is a short first hearing where charges are formally read.

The broader context here is one of delay and legal process rather than disputed facts. With identity as the shooter uncontested, the trial turned on criminal responsibility. The jury's swift rejection of the insanity defense closes that question at the trial level.

Looking at what this means for what comes next, the focus shifts to sentencing. A conviction on three counts of attempted second-degree murder carries severe exposure. The court's decision on timing and terms will determine how that exposure translates into punishment, and whether victim impact, medical consequences and the circumstances of the shooting shape the final sentence.