NEW YORK – A suspect was arrested on Sunday in connection with a shooting near the University of Vermont that resulted in the injury of three US college students of Palestinian descent, Fox News reported.
Jason J. Eaton, 48, was detained on Sunday afternoon near the scene of the shooting in Burlington, Vermont, Burlington Police said in a press release. Police searched his nearby apartment and found probable cause and Eaton was arrested on Sunday night. He is expected to be arraigned on Monday.
The University of Vermont said it has “no indication” the shooting is connected to the institution and that it is saddened by the incident.
The three college students — Hisham Awartani of Brown University, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford University and Tahseen Ahmed of Trinity University — were shot and injured at about 6:30 pm on Saturday while attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering. The students were visiting the home of one of the victim’s relatives and were walking to dinner when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said.
The shooting happened in front of Eaton’s apartment building, according to police.
Police previously said that the gunman opened fire on the suspects “without speaking.” Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, traditional scarves worn by some in the Middle East. The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said they were speaking Arabic when the shooting occurred.
