A young couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy have been shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC.
Police say the victims, who have been named as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were killed by a man who shouted “free, free Palestine”.
The suspect is in custody.
Here’s what you need to know about the shooting.
What happened?
At 21:08 local time on Wednesday, police received multiple calls about a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington DC.
A man and a woman were found unconscious and not breathing at the scene, and later died.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said the couple were leaving the event at the museum on 3rd St NW – an area with numerous tourist sites, museums and government buildings, including the FBI’s Washington field office.
Police allege the shooting was committed by Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, who is being questioned in custody.
MPD chief Pamela Smith said he was seen pacing up and down outside the museum before opening fire with a handgun on a group of four people.
The suspect then went inside the museum, where he was detained. Police said he identified where he discarded the weapon and allegedly implied that he had committed the offence.
He then chanted “free, free Palestine” while in custody.
MPD are leading the investigation. The FBI said it is looking into “ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime”.
What do we know about the victims?
Israeli Embassy in USThe Israeli embassy in the US named the couple killed and said its staff “were heartbroken and devastated by their murder”.
“No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss. Our hearts are with their families, and the embassy will be by their side during this terrible time.”
Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the US, said Mr Lischinsky was about to propose to Miss Milgrim.
“The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem,” he told a press conference.
“They were a beautiful couple.”
A rabbi in Washington who met the couple said “they were nice, popular people”.
Levi Shemtov told BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he saw the couple at Jewish events in the city.
This is “brutal news”, he said.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) who organised the event at the museum said: “They were stolen from us. They had their entire lives ahead of them.”
It described Miss Milgrim as “warm and compassionate” and said she was from Overland Park, Kansas.
Germany also confirmed that Mr Lischinsky had a German passport.
Ronen Shoval, who knew him in Jerusalem, told BBC News that Mr Lischinsky was a “very polite man with a good character” and “a devout Christian” who moved to Israel from Germany as a teenager, and later relocated to Washington DC.
What do we know about the suspect?
Suspect Elias Rodriguez is currently being held by authorities and is expect in court on Thursday.
Online records examined by BBC Verify indicate that Rodriguez, who is from Chicago, had been working at the American Osteopathic Information Association since 2024.
Prior to that, he appeared to work as a researcher at HistoryMakers, a research and educational institution based in Chicago, according to a LinkedIn profile and the institution’s web site.
Social media accounts BBC Verify has examined that appear to belong to Rodriguez indicate that he was heavily involved in the pro-Palestinian protest movement.
An online story indicated that in 2017, he was associated with a fringe communist group, The Party for Socialism and Liberation.
The party said in a post on X that Rodriguez had a “brief association” with a branch of the group and that they had had no contact with him for seven years.
They said they “have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it”.
What did witnesses say?
Witnesses described the aftermath of the attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
“At around 09:07 we heard gunshots, and then a guy came in and seemed really distressed and we thought he just needed help and he needed safe shelter,” Katie Kalisher said.
Yoni Kalin, who was also at the event, said: “So people were calming him down, giving him water, taking care of him. Little did we know he was somebody that executed people in cold blood.
“He was the shooter. Once the police originally showed up, he’s like ‘I did this. I’m unarmed.’
“He pulls out a red kaffiyeh and he was like, ‘I did this for Gaza. Free Palestine. There’s only one solution. Intifada revolution’, and he just kept yelling ‘free Palestine’.”
What was the event?
The event at the Capital Jewish Museum was billed as one to bring Jewish young professionals and the diplomatic community together.
The organiser, American Jewish Committee, said it was open to those in the DC diplomatic community. The event’s theme was advertised as “turning pain into purpose”.
The event description said it invited humanitarian aid organisers responding to humanitarian crises in the Middle East, including Gaza.
Its hours were publicly advertised, but the location was only shared with those who signed up to attend.
What did Donald Trump say?
President Donald Trump has condemned the attack and called it antisemitic.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, he said: “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!”
What did Israel say?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “outraged by the horrifying antisemitic murder” of the victims.
“My heart grieves for the families of the young beloveds, whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer,” he said.
“I have directed that security be increased at Israeli missions around the world and for the state’s representatives.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the couple’s death was a “direct result of toxic, antisemetic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the October 7th massacre”.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 53,475 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,340 since the Israeli offensive resumed, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Additional reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, BBC Verify
