2 Israeli Embassy staffers killed in Washington, D.C. shooting
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot leaving an event promoting peace in the Middle East
Two Israeli embassy staffers, a young couple about to be engaged, were killed by a lone gunman as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, and a suspect is in custody, officials said.
The two were shot and killed in the area of 3rd and F streets in Northwest, a part of central Washington that's about two kilometres from the White House.
The Israeli foreign ministry named the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., told reporters that Lischinsky had "purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem."
Washington Metropolitan Police chief Pamela Smith said a man shot at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting both the victims. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting.
The suspect chanted "Free Palestine, Free Palestine" in custody, Smith said.
"After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security," Smith said. "Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence."
Smith identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago native.
Tributes paid to victims
In a post on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed condolences to the families of the victims and condemned the shooting.
"These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!" he said in a message on Truth Social. "Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was shocked by the killings.
"My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were cut short by a heinous antisemitic murderer," he said in a statement.
"I have instructed to strengthen security arrangements at Israeli missions around the world and security for state representatives."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday the shooting was a direct result of "toxic antisemitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world" since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel led by Hamas, a militant group considered a terrorist organization by many Western governments.
Germany's foreign minister expressed his shock at the killing. "Nothing can justify antisemitic violence," Johann Wadephul wrote in a social media post.
The German-Israeli Society said Lischinsky had grown up in Bavaria and spoke fluent German.
"We remember him as an open-minded, intelligent and deeply committed person whose interest in German-Israeli relations and ways to achieve peaceful coexistence in the Middle East brightened the environment around him," said the society's president, Volker Beck.
Tech2Peace, an advocacy group training young Palestinians and Israelis and promoting dialogue between them, said Sarah Lynn Milgrim was an active volunteer who "brought people together with empathy and purpose."
"Her dedication to building a better future was evident in everything she did," it said. "Her voice and spirit will be profoundly missed."
Israel under pressure to ease aid blockade in Gaza
The shootings come as Israel faces intense pressure from Western allies to halt military operations in Gaza and ease the aid blockade in the war-ravaged territory.
The shooting could further convulse the U.S. debate over the war in Gaza, which has polarized steadfast supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Conservative Israel supporters led by Trump have branded pro-Palestinian demonstrators as antisemitic.
Trump has cut off funding to elite U.S. universities that he says have permitted antisemitic demonstrations, and his administration has detained foreign student demonstrators without charges.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the incident.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X: "We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice."
Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino said the suspect was being interviewed by the police and the FBI.
"Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence," he said in a post on X. "Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads."
Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting "a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism."
"Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line," 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."
The event at the Capital Jewish Museum was held by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that supports Israel and confronts antisemitism, according to its website.
An online invitation to the event called it the Young Diplomats Reception, describing it as a bringing together of Jewish professionals between the ages of 22 and 45 and the Washington diplomatic community.
Despite the late hour, several people gathered at the scene of the shooting, including one who knelt on the ground at the intersection with an improvised Israeli flag draped over his shoulders.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who was at the scene, said the couple had attended his Washington synagogue occasionally.
"It's very sad to see that instead of these people coming to the ultimate celebration of their life — they were about to get engaged — they get shot dead in the street just because of who they are," said the rabbi, who is also the executive vice president of the Jewish group American Friends of Lubavitch.
'This event was about humanitarian aid'
Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed, they said.
Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect.
When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled, "Free Palestine,'" Kalin said.
"This event was about humanitarian aid," Kalin said. "How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood."
Last week, the Capital Jewish Museum was one of the local nonprofits in Washington awarded funding from a $500,000 US grant program to increase its security. The museum's leaders were concerned because it is a Jewish organization and due to its new LGBTQ exhibit, according to NBC4 Washington.
In response to the shooting, the museum said in a statement that they are "deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence outside the Museum this evening."
With files from The Associated Press