Photo: Reuters
Two employees of the Israeli Embassy in the United States were killed in a shooting near the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday evening. As confirmed by law enforcement, the attack took place near the museum, the FBI office and the US Attorney’s Office. The victims were a young couple who were preparing for an engagement, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said. This was reported by Reuters.
Washington police chief Pamela Smith said that the suspect, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, had already been detained. Witnesses saw him walking in front of the museum before the event. After the arrest, the man shouted “Free Palestine”.
The man had not previously been in police custody. Authorities are considering the version of an anti-Semitic attack aimed at Israeli diplomats and the Jewish community.
Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US President Donald Trump condemned the attack.
“These horrific murders in D.C., clearly motivated by anti-Semitism, must stop. Hate and radicalism have no place in America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon called the shooting a “criminal act of anti-Semitic terror” that crossed a red line.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Janine Pirro were at the scene.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Christie Noem promised justice:
“We will bring this despicable criminal to justice.”
The FBI and local police are conducting a joint investigation. Israeli embassy spokesman Tal Naim Cohen said that both victims were shot at point blank range while participating in a cultural event.
