Two Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday (May 21) night, according to officials and media reports.
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, according to the reports.
“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X.
FBI Director Kash Patel said he and his team had been briefed on the shooting.
“While we’re working with [Metropolitan Police Department] to respond and learn more, in the immediate, please pray for the victims and their families,” he wrote on X.
A single suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, is in custody, Washington police chief Pamela Smith said. Rodriguez was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting. He was later detained by event security.
The suspect chanted “Free, free Palestine” while in custody, the police chief added.
Following the incident, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said that there was no active threat in the city.
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.”
US President Donald Trump called the shooting “horrible”, adding that it was “based obviously on antisemitism”.
“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA,” the president said in a post on social media platform Truth Social.
“Condolences to the families of the victims. So said that such things as this can happen!”
The victims were a young couple who were engaged to be married, said Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US.
He added that he spoke to Trump after the shooting.
A heavy police presence was seen at the scene as authorities cordoned off streets and redirected traffic.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were on the scene of the shooting.
