Suspect in Vermont Shootings Arraigned on Charges of Attempted Murder

A 48-year-old Vermont man was charged on Monday with three counts of attempted second-degree murder in the weekend shootings of three young men of Palestinian descent on a Burlington street, an violent episode that stunned the small city. He pleaded not guilty.

The suspect, Jason J. Eaton, was held without bail pending a bail hearing. He appeared in court through a remote video link from jail, wearing a red prison shirt. He did not speak during the brief hearing, except to thank the judge.

Prosecutors did not offer details of their investigation at the hearing Monday.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by the Burlington police, Mr. Eaton encountered the three young men, all students, just before 6:30 p.m. on Saturday outside the apartment building where he lives on North Prospect Street, near the University of Vermont campus. The affidavit said that the students were approaching a house when the gunman walked up, pulled out a handgun and started shooting at them from about two yards away.

According to the court documents, Hisham Awartani, a student at Brown University, was shot in the spine; Tahseen Ahmed, a student at Trinity College, was struck in the chest, and Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College, was struck in the backside. All three men are 20 years old.