2 Israeli Embassy Aides Are Fatally Shot Outside Event in Washington

Two young Israeli Embassy aides were shot and killed outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington on Wednesday night by a man who shouted pro-Palestinian slogans after he was detained, according to law enforcement officials.

The close-range shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on a street outside the Capital Jewish Museum, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception for young diplomats. The area is the heart of official Washington, packed with federal buildings, embassies and museums. The Capitol, the F.B.I.’s Washington field office and the headquarters of the Justice Department are all near the museum.

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was detained shortly after the shooting and there was no ongoing threat to public safety, law enforcement officials said.

Pamela A. Smith, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters at a news conference that Mr. Rodriguez exclaimed, “Free, free Palestine,” after he was in custody. He also informed the police where he had discarded the weapon used in the shooting, Chief Smith said.

Israel’s foreign ministry identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. Mr. Lischinsky was a research assistant in the political department at the embassy and Ms. Milgrim organized trips to Israel, according to the ministry.

Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador, said at the news conference that the two people killed were a couple about to be engaged. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” he said.

“The people of Israel are resilient people, and the people of the United States of America are resilient people,” he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was “outraged” by the killings and had ordered stronger security for Israeli diplomatic missions around the world, his office said.

“This is the direct result of toxic antisemitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the Oct. 7 massacre,” Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, said at a news conference in Jerusalem on Thursday.

On social media, President Trump wrote: “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington said that the shooting would “frighten a lot of people in our city and in our country.”

“I want to be clear that we will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city,” she said. “We will not tolerate any acts of terrorism, and we are going to stand together as a community in the coming days and weeks” against antisemitism.

After the deadly Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli military began a campaign in Gaza has devastated the enclave. It set off a wave of pro-Palestinian protests, including at Israeli embassies and at American college and university campuses. The Israeli Embassy in Washington has been a particular focus for protesters.

The debate around the protests has often been vitriolic. Some critics, including the Trump administration and Israel, have said the protesters are promoting antisemitism and inciting violence against Jews. Many demonstrators and their supporters have said that such accusations are intended to suppress political speech and their support for the Palestinian cause.

Police officials said a single suspect seen pacing in front of the museum before the shooting on Wednesday was responsible for the attack. He approached four people who were leaving the event, shooting the two victims, and then walked into the museum, where he was detained by security officers, they said.

Tal Naim Cohen, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy, wrote on social media before the news conference in Washington that the two staff members were shot “at close range.”

Ms. Smith, the Washington police chief, said it was not immediately clear why the suspect entered the museum after the shooting or what he planned to do inside. Mr. Rodriguez had not been previously identified as a threat in Washington, officials added.

Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the F.B.I., said the suspect was being interviewed by Washington police in conjunction with the agency’s counterterrorism team. “Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” he said on social media.

The American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum was described online as a “Young Diplomats Reception,” intended to bring together young Jewish professionals between the ages of 22 and 45, as well as the Washington diplomatic community.

“We are excited to introduce this year’s theme: turning pain into purpose,” the group said in the online invitation, adding that the event would feature members of groups working to respond to humanitarian crises throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Ted Deutch, the American Jewish Committee’s chief executive, said, “We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attack. “This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence,” he wrote on social media. “Make no mistake: we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice.”

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