Who Are the Three Palestinian Students Who Were Shot in Vermont? What We Know So Far
Three college students of Palestinian descent—two of whom are U.S. citizens and the other a legal resident, according to police—were shot and injured on Saturday night in Burlington, Vermont, while on their way to a Thanksgiving holiday dinner.
Transcript
00:00 I'm grateful that as a result of a huge coordinated law enforcement response led
00:04 throughout by the Burlington Police Department, that the suspected shooter was
00:09 off the streets in less than 24 hours.
00:11 And that we were able to announce the arrest of Jason Eaton just after midnight
00:16 last night.
00:16 Saturday evening shooting of three young Palestinian college students
00:22 visiting Burlington on their holiday break was one of the most shocking and
00:25 disturbing events in this city's history.
00:29 This horrific, unprovoked attack was a tragic violation of the values and
00:32 character of this welcoming, inclusive community.
00:36 Mr. Eaton has now been arraigned and charged with triple attempted murder,
00:40 charges that carry the potential for life sentences.
00:44 This case remains the top priority of the Burlington Police Department.
00:49 The investigation will continue, as will our collaboration with state and
00:53 federal partners, to give our prosecutors the strongest case possible.
00:57 And to ensure that Mr. Eaton is held fully accountable for his actions.
01:01 >> Today, our office filed charges against Mr.
01:04 Eaton, specifically three counts of attempted murder for
01:07 the senseless, unprovoked violence against these three young men.
01:12 These are three life felonies.
01:15 And although we do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement,
01:23 I do want to be clear that there is no question this was a hateful act.
01:28 >> These three young men are incredible.
01:31 And that's not just proud uncle speaking, but it's true.
01:35 They have their lives in front of them.
01:40 They are committed to building incredible lives.
01:43 They each go to great schools.
01:45 They were our house guests for
01:47 Thanksgiving, as they have the past few Thanksgivings.
01:51 We had just been to my eight year old twin's birthday party.
01:56 We had just come home and they were walking around the block.
02:00 And this is when this happened.
02:04 >> The young men were interviewed by detectives.
02:07 They stated that the person had not made any comments to them and
02:10 had merely approached them while they were walking down the street,
02:13 essentially minding their own business.
02:16 And they were speaking in a mixture of English and Arabic, which is their want.
02:24 Two were wearing keffiyehs and
02:27 they had no knowledge of this individual, had not encountered him before.
02:31 He stepped off a porch and produced a firearm and began discharging that firearm.
02:37 We instead did this re-canvas door knock.
02:39 And upon knocking on one door, the ATF agents were greeted by a man who
02:45 stepped out of the door towards them with his palms up at waist height and
02:51 stated something to the effect of, I've been waiting for you.
02:54 The ATF agents said, why's that?
02:57 And the gentleman said in some instants, I would like a lawyer.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]