Court records show Eaton’s public defender requested a competency evaluation on Aug. 27. The assessment was conducted by Dr. Keelin Garvey on September 20 and Garvey’s report was tabled on September 27.

Eaton would have shot the three 20-year-old students outside his apartment near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington on Nov. 25, a Saturday evening, authorities said.

Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad were walking on a residential street, chatting in a mixture of English and Arabic, police said. Two wore keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves.

Then, police say, a man came down from a porch with a gun and shot each of them, without saying a word.

The three students survived their injuries but were initially hospitalized in intensive care.

Two days after the shooting, Eaton pleaded not guilty on three counts of attempted murder. He has been held without bail since his arrest last year at his Burlington apartment.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Pacht extended the Dec. 16 deadline for depositions to May 31, at the request of Eaton’s attorney.

Eaton’s attorney, Peggy Jansch, said she needed more time to finalize testimony from about 30 prosecution witnesses, including about two dozen members of law enforcement.

Prosecutors objected, saying such a delay would push the trial until late 2025.

Pacht has set a status hearing for next March.

“Then you will have a better idea of ​​where the case is going,” Pacht said.

Tonya Alanez can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her @talanez.