A Vermont man was convicted on Monday of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian college students near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington last November. Jason Eaton, 51, now faces up to life in prison for the attack that left one victim paralyzed and two others wounded.

The jury reached its verdict after several hours of deliberation, concluding a week-long trial that included testimony from the three survivors—Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Aljahmad, and Kinnan Abdalahmid—as well as psychiatric experts from both the defense and prosecution. Eaton was ordered held in custody pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.

Eaton admitted to being the shooter but pleaded not guilty, advancing a defense based on insanity. His attorneys argued that he was delusional at the time of the shooting, claiming he had been receiving commands via FM radio from the CIA and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to carry out the attack. They also stated that Eaton believed he was acting under divine instruction to protect his Jewish neighbors. Had the jury accepted the insanity defense, Eaton could have been committed to mental health treatment instead of prison.

The incident occurred in late November 2023, just days after Thanksgiving and weeks following the outbreak of the Gaza war. The shooting sent shockwaves through the Burlington community and resonated deeply in the West Bank, where the victims had grown up and become friends as schoolmates in Ramallah before relocating to the United States for their studies.

Advocates and community members called for a hate crime investigation into the shooting. However, authorities did not file hate crime charges, citing ongoing uncertainty over whether anti-Palestinian animus, an altered mental state, or other factors motivated Eaton’s actions.

According to the prosecution, Eaton had purchased a Ruger .380-caliber handgun seven months before the attack from a Vermont firearms store. Forensic testing matched the weapon to the shooting. Additionally, authorities recovered three shotguns from Eaton’s apartment.

Defense lawyer Joshua O’Hara described Eaton’s mental condition as a psychotic disorder triggered after he lost his job at a credit union two weeks prior to the shooting. O’Hara explained that Eaton, while listening to a local NPR station, believed he was receiving messages initially validating but later commanding him to shoot. Prosecutors argued the attack was premeditated and deliberate.

During the verdict reading, Eaton showed little reaction, while Awartani and Aljahmad, seated among the courtroom audience, smiled and embraced supporters. The sentencing date remains pending as the community awaits further developments in the case.