Man in New York faces charges for shooting Palestinians, allegedly in response to harassment of ex-girlfriend

The Vermont man accused of shooting three Palestinian college students had a history of harassing an ex-girlfriend in New York in 2019. Jason J. Eaton’s ex-girlfriend reported that he was sending her sexual text messages and showing up unannounced at her home. Despite her reluctance to press charges, Eaton promised to stop contacting her after speaking with police. He is now being held without bail on attempted murder charges for the shooting of three students near the University of Vermont campus. The incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime, as the students were speaking a mix of English and Arabic and wearing Palestinian scarves at the time of the attack. Eaton has a history of appearing in police reports but has never been a suspect before. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges and was ordered to remain in jail without bond.