Jason Eaton: Man arrested over shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont

[essentialsaltes]

A 48-year-old man has been arrested over the shooting of three US students of Palestinian descent in Vermont and will appear in court on Monday.

The US government is looking into whether the shooting was a hate crime.

Officers are currently investigating a possible motive but say the victims were wearing keffiyeh - a traditional scarf - and speaking Arabic when attacked.

The three men, all aged 20, were visiting the home of a relative of one of them and walking along the street when a white man confronted them with a gun, police said. He fired on them without speaking then fled.

[The three] attended Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-run private non-profit school in Ramallah, together, according to family members.

Rich Price, an uncle of one of the victims, said the three men had been visiting an eight-year-old's birthday party.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The man suspected of shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont, pleaded not guilty Monday to three charges of attempted murder in the second degree.

During the search of the suspect’s home, authorities recovered a .380 semi-automatic Ruger pistol, a law enforcement source said. The weapon was taken to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ballistics lab, where experts are firing a comparison bullet to examine it against the bullets recovered from the victims and shell casings recovered at the scene.

When ATF agents approached Eaton, the suspect allegedly told them, “I’ve been waiting for you,” according to a probable cause affidavit.

One of the victims, Awartani, was shot in the spine but is stable, according to [head of the Quaker school in the West Bank] Maayeh, who visited his mother in Ramallah. His mother, Elisabeth Price, is trying to leave Ramallah and travel to the US to see her son, Maayeh said.

 

[essentialsaltes]

In a now-locked account on X, [the perp] describes himself as a “radical citizen” who patrols “demockracy and [poop]italism for oathcreepers.” His banner image features big bold text, saying “Libertarians want trans furrys (sic) to be able to protect their cannabis farms with unregistered machine guns.”

One post from March 2022, titled “Thought Crime,” is an anti-vaxx screed that labels COVID-19 as a government conspiracy. “The scale and scope of this operation was next level,” he wrote.

He also shared other anti-vaxx sentiments on his LinkedIn, and wrote last year that he’d started deleting or unpublishing certain posts because “my ideas make some people not want to hire me.”

Records online indicate that his employment ended earlier this month.

Eaton’s mother, Mary Reed, told the Daily Beast that they’d just spent Thanksgiving together and nothing seemed amiss with her son. He made no reference to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has become sharply polarizing in the U.S. She said that Eaton has had struggles with mental health in the past, and described him as a “very religious person” who regularly reads the Bible and finds connections to various religious figures.

 

[PloverWing]

Here's tonight's PBS NewsHour's coverage of the incident:

Vermont shooting raises more concerns about attacks against Arab Americans

The shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent has added more fear and concern about a rise in bias, discrimination and violent attacks against Arab Americans and Muslims in the U.S. While the motive is still unclear, some groups argue officials should consider this a hate crime...

www.pbs.org

 

[USincognito]

In a now-locked account on X, [the perp] describes himself as a “radical citizen” who patrols “demockracy and [poop]italism for oathcreepers.” His banner image features big bold text, saying “Libertarians want trans furrys (sic) to be able to protect their cannabis farms with unregistered machine guns.”

One post from March 2022, titled “Thought Crime,” is an anti-vaxx screed that labels COVID-19 as a government conspiracy. “The scale and scope of this operation was next level,” he wrote.

He also shared other anti-vaxx sentiments on his LinkedIn, and wrote last year that he’d started deleting or unpublishing certain posts because “my ideas make some people not want to hire me.”

Records online indicate that his employment ended earlier this month.

Eaton’s mother, Mary Reed, told the Daily Beast that they’d just spent Thanksgiving together and nothing seemed amiss with her son. He made no reference to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has become sharply polarizing in the U.S. She said that Eaton has had struggles with mental health in the past, and described him as a “very religious person” who regularly reads the Bible and finds connections to various religious figures.

Sounds similar to David De Pape's descent into madness.

 

[wing2000]

In a now-locked account on X, [the perp] describes himself as a “radical citizen” who patrols “demockracy and [poop]italism for oathcreepers.” His banner image features big bold text, saying “Libertarians want trans furrys (sic) to be able to protect their cannabis farms with unregistered machine guns.”

One post from March 2022, titled “Thought Crime,” is an anti-vaxx screed that labels COVID-19 as a government conspiracy. “The scale and scope of this operation was next level,” he wrote.

He also shared other anti-vaxx sentiments on his LinkedIn, and wrote last year that he’d started deleting or unpublishing certain posts because “my ideas make some people not want to hire me.”

Records online indicate that his employment ended earlier this month.

Eaton’s mother, Mary Reed, told the Daily Beast that they’d just spent Thanksgiving together and nothing seemed amiss with her son. He made no reference to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has become sharply polarizing in the U.S. She said that Eaton has had struggles with mental health in the past, and described him as a “very religious person” who regularly reads the Bible and finds connections to various religious figures.

It's good that creep is locked up. How many more lost souls are out there.....

One of the victim's relative noted they thought sending these young men to be educated in American universities was the the correct (and safe) move. Imagine the parents back in the West Bank hearing that their son has been gunned downed on the streets of America? The three young men had just attended a birthday party for an 8 year old boy....

 

[essentialsaltes]

Awartani has an “incomplete spinal injury,” meaning he can feel his legs but can’t move them, [his mom] Price told CNN’s Poppy Harlow from Amman, Jordan, Tuesday morning. She said she is working to travel to the US to be with her son and hopes to arrive in about 24 hours.

Awartani’s clavicle is also broken and he has a fractured thumb, Price said. And because of the spinal injury, he has difficulty regulating his body temperature. He is expected to have between one and four weeks in spinal trauma care, followed by months in physical therapy, Price said.

Price previously said she believes her son has the determination to regain movement in his legs, though the doctors told her it was currently not possible.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Hisham Awartani, one of the three Palestinian college students who were shot while walking in Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend, is paralyzed from the chest down after a bullet became lodged in his spine, his mother said.

 

[USincognito]

Poor guy.