2 Israeli Embassy staff members killed outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC

According to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were slain Wednesday night near the Capitol Jewish Museum.

“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Noem said in a post on X. "We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share."

The close-range shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on a downtown street outside an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, in the heart of official Washington, behind the F.B.I.’s Washington field office and near the Capitol, Justice Department and F.B.I. headquarters.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith told a press conference that police think the shooting was carried out by a single offender, who is now in custody.

The suspect, who Smith named as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, “was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum” before he “approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire striking both of our decedents,” she said.

After the shooting, Smith stated that the suspect entered the museum and was apprehended by event security. Once handcuffed, he told security where he had discarded the weapon, which was recovered by authorities. Smith stated the individual yelled "Free, Free Palestine" while in detention.

Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador, told reporters at a news conference that the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” he said, calling them a “beautiful couple.”

“I will say this: We are a resilient people,” he added.  "The people of Israel are resilient people and the people of the United States of America are resilient people."

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was arrested immediately after the shootings, according to law enforcement officials. The victims' names were not immediately published.

The suspect named after Wednesday night’s deadly shooting is being interviewed by the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police along with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, according to Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino.

US and Israeli officials expressed outrage and offered their condolences for the families of the victims following the shooting.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!  Hatred and radicalism have no place in the United States.  Condolences to the families of the victims,” Trump wrote on social media.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the US and Israel “will stand united in defense of our people and our shared values” following the attack.

“I am devastated by the scenes in Washington DC,” he said in a statement on X. “This is a despicable act of hatred, of antisemitism, which has claimed the lives of two young employees of the Israeli embassy.”