2 Israeli Embassy staff are killed in a shooting in Washington, D.C., officials say

In this image taken from video provided by WJLA, a spectator watches as law enforcement works the scene after two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. WJLA/AP hide caption toggle caption WJLA/AP WASHINGTON — Two staff members from the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., were shot and killed outside an event at a Jewish museum in the capital, police said Wednesday. Shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, as an event by the pro-Israel advocacy group American Jewish Committee wrapped up at a local Jewish museum in downtown D.C., a man was observed “pacing back and forth” outside of the building, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters. The man approached a group of four people then opened fire, Smith said. Two people were killed — a man and woman who were a couple, officials said. Afterward, the shooter entered the museum and was detained by event security, Smith said. Sponsor Message “The suspect chanted ‘Free, free Palestine’ while in custody,” Smith added. Police said they had tentatively identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago. He did not have any prior known encounters with police, Smith said. The victims were “a couple about to be engaged,” said Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington’s cultural center.” The ambassador said he had received a phone call from President Trump. The president, Leiter said, told him the White House would do “everything they can possibly do to fight and end anti-semitism.” The shooting took place outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington, less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol. The American Jewish Committee, a pro-Israel Jewish advocacy group, had held an event at the museum on Wednesday night, the group said in a statement. “We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,” the group’s CEO, Ted Deutch, said in a statement to NPR. “Our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.” Sponsor Message “We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on the social media platform X. “Please pray for the families of the victims. We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice. Steve Jensen, an official in the FBI’s Washington field office called the shooting “a heinous crime.” The FBI is investigating “ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime,” he said.