WASHINGTON: Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington were shot and killed Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, and the suspect yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, police said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Lischinsky was a research assistant, and Milgrim organized visits and missions to Israel.
They were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, Smith said.
When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said. She said law enforcement did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the community.
The stunning attack prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security. The shooting comes as Israel has launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip in a war with Hamas that has heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally.
“These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the deaths in a post on X after the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, which is located steps away from the FBI’s field office in the nation's capital.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was at the scene with former judge Jeanine Pirro, who serves as the US attorney in Washington.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
Police offered no details late Wednesday night on a potential motive for the shooting. A news conference was expected later Wednesday.
“We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act,” Danon said in a post on X. “Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives — everywhere in the world.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s office said Thursday that he was “shocked” by the “horrific, antisemitic” shooting.
“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged, saying the man had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that the woman killed was an American employee of the embassy and the man was Israeli.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was at the scene with former judge Jeanine Pirro, who serves as the US attorney in Washington and whose office would prosecute the case.
The statement from Netanyahu’s office said he spoke to Bondi, who told him Trump was “involved in managing the incident” and the US would bring the perpetrator to justice.
It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A telephone number listed in public records rang unanswered.