The 48-year-old Vermont man charged with the shocking shooting of three Palestinian students was fired from his job as an investment adviser weeks before the attack, his former employer said Monday.
Who is Jason J. Eaton?
The suspect, Jason Eaton of Burlington is charged with attempted murder in connection with the shooting and wounding of the students as they walked near the University of Vermont on their way to a Thanksgiving dinner at one of their relative’s homes.
‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ Eaton told a federal agent as he answered the door at his Burlington, Vermont, on Sunday, according to court documents.
Eaton refused to identify himself to the agent, but did volunteer that there was a shotgun in the apartment, a court filing said.
Authorities had gone to Eaton’s apartment as part of a general canvass by police of the neighborhood, not because he was already a suspect in the shooting of the three men, who are all aged 20, an official said at a press conference Monday.
Two of the men wearing keffiyeh scarves typically worn by Palestinians, and the trio was speaking a mix of English and Arabic as they walked, police said.
Eaton lives in an apartment building near the shooting scene.
A search by police of Eaton’s apartment later found a Ruger .380-caliber pistol and ammunition that matched the brand of shell casings found at the shooting scene on Saturday night in Burlington.
Suspect pleads not guilty
That gun was purchased by him earlier this year, cops said.
Eaton was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Monday in Chittenden County Court.
Eaton’s lawyer said he was pleading not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in the second degree in the attack, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
