A suspect is in custody after two staff members of Israel’s embassy in Washington, D.C., were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night, police said.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, shouted “Free, free Palestine” as he was detained, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said.
Israel’s foreign ministry identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26. Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said during a news conference following the shooting that they were a couple and were about to get engaged.
“Words cannot begin to describe the heartbreak and sorrow,” Tal Naim, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy, said in a post on Xon Thursday, adding: “Instead of walking you down the aisle, we are walking with you to your graves. What an unbearable loss.”
The police chief said Rodriguez, in his early 30s, “implied” he had committed the shooting and told authorities in custody where he had discarded the weapon. There is no ongoing threat to public safety, officials said.
The victims had been leaving the museum, which is located roughly half a mile from the U.S. Capitol, when they were gunned down around 9 p.m. ET, Leiter said. The American Jewish Committee had been hosting an event at the museum for young Jewish professionals.
Steve Jensen, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, said his team was working to identify whether the shooting may have been hate-motivated or possibly an act of terrorism, NBC News reported.
“Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X early Thursday. “Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads.”
The fatal shooting occurred amid the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, launched after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel by Hamas militants that Israeli officials say killed more than 1,200 people. Israel’s ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza has killed more 53,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
