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.
The attack sent shockwaves around the world and prompted Israeli missions to beef up their security.
The two victims, a man and a woman, 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.
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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. Smith said law enforcement did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the community.
“These horrible D.C. 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.”
Israel’s reaction
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 U.S. 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. Their identities were not immediately made public.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. would bring the perpetrator to justice.
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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.
Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, wrote in a post on social media that “early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence.”
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