Two Israeli embassy staff members fatally shot near Jewish museum in Washington DC

An engaged Israeli couple was shot dead following participation in an event within a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening.

Yaron Lischinsky, aged 28, along with Sarah Milgram, have been identified as the two victims. were gunned down Outside the Capital Jewish Museum, the Embassy of Israel to the U.S. posted a message on X early Thursday morning.

The youthful pair, who were employed at the Israeli embassy in the city, were characterized as "at the peak of their life," and their passing left coworkers feeling "utterly shattered and deeply distressed."

Before the identities of the victims were made public, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., revealed that Lischinsky intended to propose to Milgrim during his forthcoming visit to Jerusalem. Leiter also mentioned that Lischinsky, who relocated from Tel Aviv to the U.S. last November, purchased the engagement ring earlier this week.

Elias Rodriguez The suspect, aged 30, was reportedly identified as the individual who allegedly started shooting at a group of four people using a handgun near the intersection of 3rd and F Street NW, close to the museum.

Gunshots were heard around 9:15 pm after the group departed from the American Jewish Committee’s ACCESS Young Diplomats Reception.

When first responders reached the location, Lischinsky and Milgrim were found unresponsive and without breath, according to D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith during a press briefing.

The video footage depicts Rodriguez continuously shouting "free, free Palestine" as he was being escorted out of the museum by law enforcement officers who had handcuffed him.

Eyewitnesses report seeing him wandering near the museum shortly before the shots were fired. Once he started shooting, the assailant entered the building; however, security managed to apprehend him. Footage captured by bystanders indicates that he didn’t put up much of a fight during his detention.

The authorities think that Rodriguez operated independently. He did not have any previous criminal history and was not recognized by the police beforehand.

"We don't notice anything in his history that would have brought him into our focus at present," Smith stated.

The assault caused tremors globally and led to increased security measures at Israeli embassies.

Israeli and U.S. officials have deemed the attack as part of a rising tide of antisemitism, intensifying amid Israel’s escalating offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog earlier told Israeli Army Radio that the woman killed was an American employee of the embassy, and the man was Israeli.

Leiter stated that President Donald Trump had reached out to him and pledged to "take all measures to combat and eradicate antisemitism."

For his part, the president posted on Truth Social hours after the shooting: “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino confirmed that federal agents are questioning Rodriguez.

Assistant Director of the FBI's Washington Field Office, Steve Jensen, said that an investigation into the homicides will “look into ties to potential terrorism” and if the attack was a “hate crime.” Jensen denounced the shooting as “heinous.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that former Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro will be prosecuting the case.

Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed, they said.

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 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.”

In previous years, Israeli diplomats have fallen victim to acts of violence perpetrated by state-sponsored entities as well as by Palestinian militant groups throughout the prolonged Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which originated with the establishment 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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