By Reuters/RNZ
FBI agents cordon off the scene outside the Capital Jewish Museum following a shooting that left two people dead, in Washington Photo: ALEX WROBLEWSKI
Two Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, and a suspect is in custody, according to officials and media reports.
The two killed were a young couple planning to get engaged.
Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said the male victim purchased a ring this week and had planned to propose on a trip they had planned to Jerusalem.
The victims' names have not been released.
The man and a woman were shot and killed in the area of 3rd and F streets in Northwest which is near the museum, an FBI field office and the US attorney's office, according to the reports.
The suspect is Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago.
He has not been on the police radar before this incident.
Washington police chief Pamela Smith said the single suspect, seen pacing outside the museum before the event, was in custody.
The suspect chanted "Free Palestine, Free Palestine," in custody, she said.
Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington, said two of its staff members were shot "at close range" while attending a Jewish event at the museum.
The Israeli embassy did not immediately respond to questions about the shooter, the victims or the motive for the attack.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem confirmed two Israeli embassy staff members were killed.
"We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share," Noem wrote in a post on X.
"We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice."
FBI Director Kash Patel said he and his team had been briefed on the shooting.
"While we're working with [Metropolitan Police Department] to respond and learn more, in the immediate, please pray for the victims and their families," he wrote on X.
The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism. Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line. We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against… pic.twitter.com/mVyXHjGyxU
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) May 22, 2025
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called the shooting "a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism."
"Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line," Danon said in a post on X.
"We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act."
Attorney general Pam Bondi and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were on the scene of the shooting.
Bondi said the suspect, if guilty, would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
She said she had been in touch with US President Donald Trump several times to update him.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they deplored the killing of two Israeli Embassy staff.
"We are monitoring this and urge calm as the authorities investigate".
The Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment, saying a press conference would be held shortly.
- Reuters/RNZ
