Jury Convicts Vermont Man of Attempted Murder in Shooting.

A Vermont jury on Monday convicted Jason Eaton, 51, of three counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting three Palestinian college students near his Burlington home in November 2023. The jury rejected his insanity defense after several hours of deliberation.

• 3 counts each carry a potential life sentence; sentencing is not yet scheduled.
• Victim Hisham Awartani was paralyzed from the waist down after a bullet struck his spine.
• 4 to 6 gunshots were heard by a neighbor who then called 911.
• Eaton had purchased the Ruger .380-caliber handgun used in the shooting seven months earlier.

Why it matters: The shooting occurred weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war and prompted calls for a hate crime investigation that never resulted in charges.

• No hate crime charges were filed; prosecutors did not publicly resolve whether anti-Palestinian bias, mental illness, or another factor drove the attack.

How 10 sources split on this story

Where they split: Coverage agrees on the facts of the verdict but diverges on how much context about the Israel-Hamas war and treatment of Palestinians belongs in the story.

What’s next: Eaton was ordered jailed; a sentencing date has not been set.

• Will prosecutors or federal authorities revisit the question of hate crime charges before sentencing?
• What sentence will Eaton receive, and will the court address motive at that stage?