Two Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, officials said.
A 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 U.S. attorney’s office, according to media reports.
Washington police chief Pamela Smith said a single suspect who was seen pacing outside the museum before the event was in custody. The suspect chanted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine,” in custody, she said.
Smith said the suspect is 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, who was not known to police. She said police had no previous contact with Rodriguez.
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.
“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X.
“We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference Wednesday night there is no active threat to the public.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. says the two victims were a young couple engaged to be married. He said he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump after the shooting.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump expressed condolences to the families of the victims and blamed anti-Semitism for the shooting.
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.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, 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 U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were on the scene of the shooting.
‘This event was about humanitarian aid’
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.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington said in a statement that they are horrified by the shooting and “mourn the loss of the two individuals killed in the attack.”
“Our hearts are with their families and loved ones, and with all of those who are impacted by this tragic act of antisemitic violence,” the federation said.
