A 19-year-old Burlington man is being held without bail following his arraignment Thursday on two counts of attempted murder in the second degree in connection with an Aug. 13 early morning shooting near City Hall Park in Burlington that left two people with gunshot wounds.
Police said in court documents that Abukar Hilowle is also responsible for an Aug. 11 shooting on Shelburne Road that resulted in the 18-year-old victim crashing his car into a light pole after being shot.
Hilowle was charged Thursday with one count of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment stemming from that incident. Joseph Kouassi was shot from inside of the car and told officers that the shooter, whom he refused to name, fired the gun accidently, according to a police affidavit.
At his arraignment in Chittenden Superior criminal court, Hilowle pleaded not guilty on all counts. Judge Gregory Rainville ordered Hilowle held without bail, noting the severity of the shooting incidents. Hilowle is being held at Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.
According to a police affidavit, police obtained a search warrant for Hilowle’s residence Wednesday and seized a 9mm Taurus semi-automatic weapon.
In the affidavit, police said ballistic evidence found that the firearm used by Hilowle during the Shelburne Road shooting “from preliminary investigation, is the same firearm used by the male” in the two shootings on Main Street two days later.
According to the affidavit, when interviewed by police following his arrest, Hilowle claimed he was acting in self-defense after being “stomped” on during an altercation. He told officers during interrogation that he was minding his business when “some drunk guys” began engaging with him and using racial slurs. An argument ensued and one of them struck him in the back, he said.
Video surveillance and witness accounts contradicted Hilowle’s claim of self-defense, police said in the affidavit. Video from nearby businesses on Main Street showed a physical altercation between the two victims and the suspect just prior to the suspect drawing two guns, the affidavit stated.
Donald “Bo” Clark, 36, one of the shooting victims, told police that the incident began near JP’s Pub when the other victim, Robert Paglia, 47, made a comment to a group of people including Hilowle, who were shouting at each other. Clark did not describe the comment to detectives; Paglia later told detectives that the people were “screaming” and he told them to “chill.”
Paglia kept walking, according to Clark, and Hilowle confronted him, urging him to repeat what he had said and allegedly swinging at him. From there, Clark told officers that he held Hilowle down until someone else intervened.
The suspect then shot Paglia in the buttocks as he turned away, continuing to shoot at him multiple times, according to the affidavit. Hilowle then turned and shot Clark, whose “hands are raised and he is no threat to him,”’ according to the affidavit. The victims were both hospitalized following the shootings.
Police said Hilowle had 10 previous arrests, including four involving assaults.
Both the state and the defense appeared in court via zoom. Three of Hilowle’s family members were present.
Burlington has experienced 22 gunfire incidents to date this year, not all resulting in injury or death, but marking a sharp escalation in gun activity.
In a statement Thursday, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger called the arrest “a significant step toward addressing this public safety crisis.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Judge Rainville’s surname.
