Two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington were shot dead on Wednesday evening, left the event at the Jewish Museum, and the suspect cried “free, free Palestine,” police said after being arrested.
The attack sent shockwaves around the world, urging Israeli missions to strengthen their security.
The two victims, a man and a woman, had left the event at the Capital Jewish Museum, when the suspect approached the group of four, said Pamela Smith, the chief of police at the Metropolitan Police Department, at a press conference.
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The suspect, identified as Chicago’s Elias Rodriguez, 30, walked outside the museum before the shooting and was detained by security at the event, Smith said.
When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting “free, free Palestine,” Smith said. Smith said law enforcement does not believe there is an ongoing threat to the community.
“These horrifying DC murders, clearly based on anti-Semitism, have to end now!” President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. “Hate and radicalism have no place in America.”
Israel’s reaction
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that he was “shocked” by the “terrifying, anti-Semitism” shootings.
“We are witnessing the horrific prices of anti-Semitism and wild agitation against Israel,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli US ambassador said Yetiel Reiter is a young couple whose murdered two are about to engage, and the man bought the ring this week with the intention of proposing next week in Jerusalem. Their identity was not immediately published.
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US Israeli ambassador Mike Herzog told Israel Army Radio that the woman killed was an American employee at the embassy, and the man was Israeli.
Attorney General Pam Bondy has said the firm is on the scene with former judge Janine Piro, who will be prosecuting the case.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said he spoke to Bondi.
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It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf. The phone number listed on the official record rings unanswered.
“The early indicators are targeted acts of violence,” wrote Dan Bongino, assistant director of the FBI, in a social media post.
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