Two Israeli embassy staff killed in Washington, DC shooting
Israeli embassy staff targeted in fatal Washington shooting
WASHINGTON, DC (MNTV) – Two staff members of Israel’s embassy in the United States were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, late Wednesday night, according to authorities.
The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT Thursday).
Police identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, Illinois, who was taken into custody shortly after the incident.
Pamela A. Smith, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, stated that Rodriguez had been seen pacing outside the museum before approaching a group of four people and opening fire. “He produced a handgun and fired, striking both victims,” Smith said at a press conference.
While in custody, Rodriguez reportedly chanted, “Free, free, Palestine.” Authorities have not confirmed a motive.
Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser condemned the violence, saying her administration would not tolerate “violence or hate” in the city. “We will stand together as a community to send a clear message against anti-Semitism,” she said.
Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, identified the victims as a couple who had been planning to marry.
“The young man had purchased a ring to propose next week in Jerusalem,” Leiter said, calling the loss devastating.
US President Donald Trump condemned the shooting as “obviously based on antisemitism” in a post on Truth Social, adding, “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the victims’ families.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured that federal authorities are investigating and will bring the perpetrator to justice.
US Attorney General Pamela Bondi, who visited the scene, said she was “praying for the victims.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered heightened security measures at Israeli missions worldwide in response to the attack, while Danny Danon, Israel’s UN ambassador, called the shooting “an anti-Semitic terrorist act.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government ministers for the killing of two embassy staffers in Washington, DC.
In a statement, Golan, head of the Democrats Party, said the discourse of the Israeli government ministers enabled the incident.
Netanyahu’s government “is the one that fuels antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and the result is unprecedented diplomatic isolation and danger to every Jew at every point on the globe,” he said.
Experts maintain that this tragic act of violence may be exploited to suppress peaceful advocacy for Palestinian human rights.
They warn that attempts to link such violence to nonviolent movements for justice could be dangerous, risking the silencing of legitimate dissent.
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