Suspect in fatal shooting of 2 Israeli Embassy staff in D.C. wasn’t on police’s radar. Here is what we know.

The suspect in the fatal shooting of 2 Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night has been identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago.

Rodriguez allegedly shot and killed the victims — a couple about to become engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. — as they were leaving the museum, which is located in the heart of the U.S. capital. 

Israel’s foreign ministry identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. The woman was an American and the man was Israeli, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio, according to The Associated Press. Leiter said they were “gunned down … in the name of Free Palestine.”

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith said authorities believe the shooting was committed by a single suspect who is now in custody.  

What we know about the suspect

The suspect had been seen “pacing back and forth outside of the museum” before he approached a group of four people, “produced a handgun” and fatally shot the two victims, Smith said at a news conference. He entered the museum right after the shooting and museum security arrested him, according to Smith. 

“The suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered,” Smith said, adding that he “implied that he committed the offense.”

The suspect chanted “free, free Palestine” while he was being arrested, video showed. 

“Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, said in a post on social media, adding that the suspect was being interviewed by D.C. police in conjunction with the FBI. 

The shooting was being investigated as a hate crime, a law enforcement source said.

The suspect didn’t appear in an initial search of crime databases and wasn’t on law enforcements’ radar, Metropolitan Police said. No details on the gun purchase or legality of the weapon were known as of early Thursday morning.  

The police and the FBI were combing through the suspect’s social media, and electronic devices belonging to the suspect have been seized, according to a law enforcement source.

The victims

Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., said Lischinsky bought 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,” he said.

Israel’s Embassy said in a post on X “they were in the prime of their lives,” calling them “our friends and colleagues.”  

“The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder,” it said. “No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss.”

Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social: “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!”

Faris Tanyos,

Kierra Frazier,

Pat Milton and

Andres Triay

contributed to this report.