Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC were gunned down Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum.
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.
The suspect yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, police said.
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, 31, 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.
“After the shooting a guy came inside [the museum] saying he saw it and needed water and a safe space, then whipped out a keffiyeh and yelled free Palestine a bunch before being escorted out by police,” the witness told reporter Josh Kraushaar of Jewish Insider broke the story on X.
Two Israeli Embassy staff killed, per source familiar with the shooting outside the DC Capital Jewish museum.
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) May 22, 2025
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 D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social early Thursday. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
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.
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.”
According to The New York Post, The Capital Jewish Museum where the two Israeli embassy employees were gunned down, had just days earlier announced a huge new grant to help with its security concerns.
The museum had announced earlier this week that it had just received more than $30,000 from the city to help offset security costs due to safety concerns — both as a Jewish organization and due to a new LGBT-focused exhibit.
Museum Director Executive Director Beatrice Gurwitz told NBC Washington on Monday that money would help pay for security guards “to make sure that everybody is safe and that we are prepared in the event of an emergency.”
“Jewish institutions all around town, all around the country, are concerned about security due to some very scary incidents that some institutions have faced and because of a climate of antisemitism,” Gurwitz continued.
This is an on-going story. Check back for additional updates.