WASHINGTON (AP) — The fatal shooting of two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum was being investigated Thursday as an act of targeted violence, federal authorities said, as investigators prepared criminal charges against the suspect, who police say yelled "Free, free Palestine" following his arrest.
The stunning attack on Wednesday evening prompted Israeli missions to beef up security and lower their flags to half-staff. It came as Israel has launched another major offensive in the Gaza Strip in a war with the Hamas militant group that has heightened tensions across the Middle East and internationally and that law enforcement officials have repeatedly warned could inspire violence in the U.S.
The victims, identified as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American, were a young couple about to be engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. He said Lischinsky had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem.
The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect, who had been seen pacing outside the museum, approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.
The gunman, identified by police as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, then walked into the museum, was detained by security guards and began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said.
“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."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office said he was shocked.
“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.
The investigation unfolded in Washington, where federal investigators interviewed the suspect overnight and prosecutors prepared to bring criminal charges, and in Chicago, where heavily armed law enforcement officers arrived early Thursday at a home listed as the suspect's address.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the killings an “act of terror” and an example of targeted antisemitic violence.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said authorities were working to corroborate unspecified “writings allegedly authored" by Rodriguez. That was likely a reference to a document circulating online in which he expresses anger over Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the abduction of some 250 hostages.
In the time since, Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, whose count doesn't differentiate between combatants and civilians. The fighting has displaced 90% of the territory's roughly 2 million population, sparked a hunger crisis and obliterated vast swaths of Gaza's urban landscape.
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.
The shooting followed the American Jewish Committee's annual Young Diplomats reception at the museum, which the couple had attended.
Milgrim, from Overland Park, Kansas, was described by AJC chief executive Ted Deutch as “warm and compassionate, committed to peace building and passionate about sustainability and people-to-people relations.” Deutch said Lischinsky was a staff member of the embassy’s political department who told others at the event that he was eager to return to Israel to celebrate the Shavuot holiday with his family.
“Sarah and Yaron were stolen from us,” he said. “Moments before they were murdered, they were smiling, laughing and enjoying an event with colleagues and friends. We are in shock and heartbroken as we attempt to process this immense tragedy.”
Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots, and a man came inside looking distressed. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh, the Palestinian headscarf, and repeatedly yelled, “Free Palestine,’” Kalin said.
“This event was about humanitarian aid,” Kalin said. “How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.”
Last week, the Capital Jewish Museum was one of the local nonprofits in Washington awarded funding from a $500,000 grant program to increase its security. The museum's leaders were concerned because it is a Jewish organization and due to its new LGBTQ exhibit, according to NBC4 Washington.
“We recognize that there are threats associated with this as well,” Executive Director Beatrice Gurwitz told the TV station. “And again, we want to ensure that our space is as welcoming and secure for everybody who comes here while we are exploring these stories.”
In response to the shooting, the museum said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence.”
Israeli diplomats have a history of being targeted by violence, both by state-backed assailants and Palestinian militants over the decades of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict that grew out of the founding of Israel in 1948.
The Palestinians seek Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, with east Jerusalem as its capital — lands Israel captured in the 1967 war. However, the peace process between the sides has been stalled for years.
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An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the suspect in the shooting had been charged with shoplifting in Chicago.
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Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker, Hallie Golden, Jon Gambrell, Stefanie Dazio and Natalie Melzer contributed to this report.
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