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Two Israeli embassy staff were shot and killed outside an event held at Washington’s Jewish Museum on Wednesday, law enforcement officials said.
The victims (women and men) were shot at about 9pm as they had left the reception for a young diplomat hosted by the American Jewish Commission, a leading US Jewish organization.
Capital Police Department Prime Minister Pamela Smith said the suspect was in custody and officers were identified “tentatively” as Chicago’s 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez.
He chanted “free and free Palestine” while in custody, Smith said.
Tar Naim Cohen, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said the staff were “shotted at close range tonight” in a post on the X social media platform.
She said they were attending “Jewish Events” at a museum in central Washington, about 2km east of the White House.
“We have full confidence in law enforcement authorities at both the local and federal levels to arrest shooters and protect Israeli representatives and the Jewish community,” she added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “devastated” by the murder. “This is a sleazy, anti-Semitic act,” he said. “We stand with the Jewish community across DC and the United States.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and said security would be strengthened at Israeli embassies around the world.
US President Donald Trump wrote on his true social platform:
Smith said police believe the suspect acted alone. She said “he “watched back and forth outside the museum” before “he approached a group of four, produced a handgun and fired fire.”
The suspect then entered the museum and was taken into custody by security, she said. Smith said the weapons used by police have been recovered.
Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem wrote to X, “We put this perpetrator on trial.”
Steve Jensen, assistant director of the FBI’s Washington Field office, said the bureau is investigating the shooting “as a terrorist and hate crime incident.”
Various studies have reported an increase in anti-Semitism, including the United States, since the start of the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Local officials say the 19-month attack on the Israeli enclave killed more than 53,500 Palestinians, fueling the humanitarian catastrophe. Israeli officials said during the Hamas attack, extremists killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostages.
Israeli US ambassador Michael Reiter said the victim was a couple that was about to engage. “The young man bought a ring this week in Jerusalem with the intention of offering to his girlfriend.”
He added that he spoke to Trump. He said, “His administration will do everything they can to fight and end the demonization and illegalization of the Israeli state.”
Israeli UN ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon called the shooting “a decisive act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
He writes to X: “Injuring the Jewish community is crossing the red line. Israel will continue to act decisively to protect its citizens and representatives everywhere in the world.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in X:
Additional Reports by James Politi of Washington
