2 Israeli embassy staff killed in shooting in Washington DC

WASHINGTON -- Two staff members from the Israeli Embassy in the United States were killed in a shooting Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, according to US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

"We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share," Noem said in a post on social platform X.

The shooting occurred near the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum, known as the Capital Jewish Museum, according to media reports.

Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois. During an online press briefing, DC Police Chief Pamela Smith said that the suspect shouted "Free Palestine" as he was taken into custody.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yeshiel (Michael) Leite said at a press conference that the victims were a couple who had been preparing to get engaged. Embassy spokesperson Tal Naim Cohen confirmed that the two were shot at close range while attending a museum event.

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said in a statement that his organization was hosting an event at the museum that evening.

Cohen said Israeli officials had "full faith in law enforcement authorities on both the local and federal levels to apprehend the shooter and protect Israel's representatives and Jewish communities throughout the United States."

"Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line," Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny 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."

In response, US President Donald Trump called for an end to the "horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism" in a post on social platform Truth Social.