Suspect in attempted murder of three Palestinian Americans allegedly from Syracuse area

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — New information from Burlington Police indicates that the suspect in the weekend shooting of three Palestinian Americans near the University of Vermont campus allegedly came from the Syracuse area.

At a noon press conference, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad detailed the investigation that led to the arrest of 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton less than 24 hours after he allegedly opened fire from his apartment porch at the three men, who were spending their Thanksgiving break in Burlington.

“We believe that he arrived sometime in the summer and has not been a resident here for long. We believe he came from the Syracuse area and we have made contact with people who knew him there. We are working on developing whether or not there are additional records in other places,” said Chief Murad

Murad said officers did not encounter Eaton as they canvassed the apartment building on North Prospect Street and the surrounding area immediately after Saturday’s shooting.

On Sunday, when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives returned at around 6:35 p.m., Eaton answered the door of his apartment with his hands up, Murad said. He did not identify himself, but allegedly told the agents “I’ve been waiting for you.”

When one of the agents asked him why, Eaton allegedly said he wanted a lawyer.

After obtaining a search warrant for the apartment, agents allegedly found a .380mm semi-automatic and red-tipped ammunition. Murad said that both have since been connected to the shooting.

Murad said Eaton, who he described as relatively new to the Burlington area, had recently purchased the gun.

NewsChannel 9 received information that Eaton might have been previously registered with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which director, Scott Armstrong, confirmed. Armstrong said Eaton was last registered with the BSA in 2021 in Upstate New York as an Assistant Scoutmaster with a local unit.

“He is not currently a member of the BSA and Mr. Eaton’s alleged actions do not reflect the values of Scouting. Upon learning of his arrest, he was banned from registering in Scouting in any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database, permanently preventing his registration or participation in the future,” said Armstrong.

Earlier Monday, Eaton pleaded not guilty to three attempted murder charges in connection with the shooting, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

The FBI in Albany announced on X that they are currently investigating the shooting and have “deployed numerous technical, forensic and investigative resources in support of the investigation, to include victim services and computer and cell phone analysis.”

Murad thanked the ATF and the FBI for their assistance in the investigation but said there was more work to do, including determining the motive behind the attack.

“We still don’t know as much as we want to know,” he said. “But I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less.”

The Institute for Middle East Understanding has identified the men as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad.

The three men had been staying at Awartani’s grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving, Awartani told police. They had gone bowling earlier Saturday and were returning when the attack occurred.

A second victim told police he saw a man staring at them from the porch of a white house. Abdalhamid told police that the man stumbled down the stairs and pulled out a pistol.

At Monday’s press conference, Rich Price, Awartani’s uncle, said the gunman “shot them without saying any words.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.