The trial began today for the man charged with shooting three Palestinian students in Burlington in November 2023. Jurors heard opening statements followed by testimony from the victims.
Jason Eaton faces three charges of second-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting the students as they were out for an evening walk in the city. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
Attorneys were called to the judge’s chamber before the proceedings began Monday. When they returned, observers were asked to remove any keffiyeh, a traditional scarf worn in support of Palestinians. Judge John Pacht explained his concern that wearing them could influence the jury.
“While I completely understand the desire to show support for folks here, I am equally concerned with how that might impact a jury in terms of sympathies. I want to make sure that the trial we have is one as fair as we can possibly have.”
During opening statements, Deputy Chittenden County State's Attorney Sally Adams presented the prosecution’s strategy to counter an insanity defense planned by Eaton's team.
“The evidence presented during the state’s case will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jason Eaton attempted to kill these three young men. We believe that the evidence will show that it was Mr. Eaton’s intent to kill them. The evidence will show that Mr. Eaton did not suffer from a mental disease or defect at the time of the shooting and therefore does not meet the test of legal insanity.”
Eaton attorney Joshua O’Hara told jurors that his client had started hearing messages through the radio that he must shoot someone.
“Mr. Eaton at the time was suffering from a delusional, ah, a psychotic disorder and he did not have the ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct in the moment because he believed he had been instructed to do this by this government agency or God.”
Immediately following opening statements, the prosecution called the first witness. Jacob Pyne lived on the first floor of the apartment building where Eaton also resided. The defense objected to playing his 911 call, but the judge overruled.
“There’s two guys in my front yard.”
The dispatcher clarifies, “They have been shot? Okay.”
“Yeah,” Pyne replies, “I need an ambulance.”
Following Pyne’s testimony, Hisham Awartani was called to testify. He is one of the victims of the shooting and is now paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the incident.
He recalled going to a bowling alley on the afternoon of Saturday, November 25, 2023, to celebrate the birthday of his twin cousins. When they returned, he and two friends went for a walk to smoke and chat. He told Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George a man approached them.
“When he was about maybe 5 to 10 feet away from us he pulled out a handgun and started shooting at us. I fell onto the ground.”
Despite his injuries, Awartani was able to call 911.
“Vermont 911 where is your....”
“I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot. I think I’m going to die. I can’t feel anything,” Awartani tells 911.
Amid the sound of sirens someone yells “Over here!”
Tahseen Aliahmad recalled being shot in the chest that night.
“I was talking to Hisham and then I looked in front of me. I saw a man pointing a gun at me and heard some gunshots and I was on the ground. At first, I wasn’t sure what happened and I tried to get up but I started to realize that we had gotten shot and I was worried he was still around so I laid back down on the ground. I was playing dead.”
Kinnan Abdalhamid ran for help. He said he had not realized he too had been shot.
“As soon as I saw Tahseen fall, I ran across the street. I jumped a fence and then went across from the backyard of that house to another one with the lights on to get them to call the police.”
Prosecutor Sarah George asked, “Did you know when you got to that house and asked for help, did you know whether you had been shot?”
Abdalhamid said “I felt a sharp pain in my right glute when I sat down. I put my hand on the wound and I realized it was soaked in blood.”
Witness testimony from medical providers who treated the three men continued Monday afternoon.
Audio for this story was provided by Channel 3 - WCAX News.
