WASHINGTON: Two staff members of Israel’s embassy in the United States have been shot dead in an attack outside a Jewish museum in the capital.
Two Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, and a suspect is in custody, officials said.
A man and a woman were shot and killed in the area of 3rd and F streets in Northwest which is near the museum, an FBI field office and the US attorney’s office. They were a young couple about to be engaged to be married, the Israeli ambassador said.
The deadly shooting occurred at about 9pm on Wednesday (01:00 GMT, Thursday) near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, according to authorities.
Pamela A Smith, the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said authorities had detained a single suspect over the shooting, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois.
“Prior to the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum. He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire, striking both of our decedents,” Smith said at a news conference.
Smith said Rodriguez chanted, “Free, free, Palestine,” while in custody.
CONDEMNATIONS:
U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CONDEMNS ON THE INCIDENT:
US President Donald Trump condemned on Thursday the “horrible” killings of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.
“These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the incident.
