A 48-year-old man pleaded not guilty to attempted murder in the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday night — as the gunman’s mother revealed he previously struggled with depression.
Jason Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday afternoon after he was identified as a suspect. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second-degree murder on Monday and is being held without bail.
Eaton, who lives in an apartment building near where the triple shooting occurred, was in “such a good mood” during a Thanksgiving celebration with his family a few days earlier, his mother told the Daily Beast.
“Jason had a lot of struggles in his life but he was a good and loving person,” his mother, Mary Reed, told the outlet on Monday.
“I was just surprised by the whole thing,” he said.
Jason Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday afternoon after he was identified as a suspect. Burlington Police
Hisham Awartani, a Brown University student, Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a Trinity University student, and Kinnan Abdalhamid, a Haverford College student, were all shot Saturday as they walked to a family dinner, police and Arab American officials said.
Two of the victims were in stable condition while the third was seriously injured, according to police, who are still investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime amid growing Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian rhetoric in the US and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war abroad. country.
Eaton’s mother said he had previously suffered from depression and other mental health issues but he seemed better when she saw him a few days before the shooting.
College students Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali and Kenan Abdalhamid were shot while walking down a street in Vermont on Saturday. via REUTERS
“It was the best Thanksgiving we’ve had in years,” Reed said. “We’re all in this together.”
During the vacation, Eaton did not mention the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, his mother said, noting that her son was a “very religious person” who connected with different religious figures and read the Bible often.
“He, like all of us, thought the world was a mess,” Reed added. “He is a spiritual person.”
The suspect’s mother said that while she had previously struggled with depression, she seemed better on Thanksgiving. via REUTERS
Her mother said she left him with a Christmas tree to decorate and assumed she spent the weekend preparing for the upcoming holiday. He said he only learned of the shooting early Monday when his daughter came and woke him up.
“I just don’t get it,” Reed said. “I can’t believe he would do something like this.”
Police arrested Eaton on Sunday evening after a search of his property provided probable cause that he was responsible for the shooting.
Eaton is being held without bail. via REUTERS
During their search, police found a firearm and ammunition, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
A Ruger .380 pistol and a five-round magazine were found in Eaton’s bedroom closet. Ammunition for a .380 handgun was also found in the same drawer, according to documents.
Social media posts and a website operated by Eaton indicate he has an interest in finance and describes himself as a “radical citizen” and a “renewed broker on the ADHD/ASD spectrum,” according to Vice news.
He also worked for a company called CUSO Financial, an investment advisory company, but his employment was terminated on November 8, according to NBC.
According to various certificates and correspondence posted on his personal website, Eaton was included in Strathmore’s Who’s Who, advertised as a “database for business and professional leaders,” in 2003 and completed a 72-hour course as a Wilderness First Responder.
He also posted a 1998 letter of recommendation from the Associate Dean of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Range Services at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where he was studying at the time.
In the letter, the professor, Alton G. Campbell, wrote Eaton was then “in the top 1% of all our students” with “the ability to grasp difficult concepts” and said he believed he would continue to write textbooks in the natural resources field.
Eaton is being held without bail. A bail hearing will be held in the near future, said Superior Court Judge A. Gregory Rainville.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
