Suspect in shooting of Palestinian students fired from job weeks before attack

The Vermont man charged with shooting three Palestinian college students had been fired from his financial services job just weeks earlier — as it emerged that he previously served as a Boy Scout leader.

Jason Eaton, 48, from Burlington, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in Saturday’s shootings, was terminated from his role as a sales assistant at CUSO Financial Services on Nov. 8 after working there less than a year, the company said Monday, according to The Boston Globe.

“We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate. We have no further comment,” a CUSO spokeswoman said.

She declined to say why Eaton was let go.

Eaton’s recent employment history also included stints at Ameritrade in Fayetteville, New York, where he worked for less than two years, and at Edward Jones in East Syracuse, New York, where he was employed for under a year, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records.

Eaton also listed additional jobs on his LinkedIn profile he had occupied over the years, including a farmer and craftsman, a night cleaner at a noodle shop and a “social entrepreneur.”

Under “Volunteer Work,” Eaton wrote that he worked as a den leader with the Boy Scouts of America from 2017 to 2022.

The Boy Scouts of America confirmed to the Globe that Eaton had served as an assistant scoutmaster at a now-defunct troop in Syracuse, and was last registered with the organization in New York in 2021, when he voluntarily stopped being a member.

Eaton is not currently a member of the Boy Scouts of America, the group said.

“Mr. Eaton’s alleged actions do not reflect the values of Scouting. Upon learning of his arrest he was been banned from registering in Scouting any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database, permanently preventing his registration or participation in the future,” the Boy Scouts said in the statement.

Eaton was arrested Sunday after allegedly shooting three students of Palestinian descent, all aged 20, as they walked Saturday to a family dinner in Burlington.

The attack is being investigated by federal and state authorities as a possible hate crime.

The victims have been identified as childhood friends from the West Bank — Hisham Awartani, a Brown University student, Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a Trinity University student, and Kinnan Abdalhamid, a Haverford College student.

“They stated that the person had not made any comments to them and had merely approached them while they were walking down the street, essentially minding their own business,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad told reporters.

The students were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic — and two of them were also wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot.

Two of the victims were in stable condition, while a third was seriously injured and faced a long recovery because of a spinal injury, according to a family member.

Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse and legally purchased the Ruger .380 pistol used in the shooting, Murad told reporters.

“I am just shocked by the whole thing,” she said. “I can’t believe he would do something like this.”

Federal agents found the gun and a loaded magazine containing five rounds in Eaton’s bedroom dresser, according to a police affidavit. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers he’d been waiting for them.

His mother, Mary Reed, told The Daily Beast Monday that her son had previously struggled with depression, but described him as a “kind and loving person” who seemed to be doing much better over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I am just shocked by the whole thing,” she said. “I can’t believe he would do something like this.”