Two Israeli diplomats shot dead by Pro Palestine protestor in Washington DC; probe launched

Two Israeli Embassy staff members were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington, DC on Wednesday night. According to US authorities, an investigation into the incident has been prompted and the suspect has been taken into custody.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a press conference that the victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the museum when the 30-year-old suspect approached a group of four individuals and opened fire without warning. Both victims were killed at the scene.

According to AP, the suspect, who has been identified as Elias Rodriguez, was reportedly seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting. After firing the shots, he entered the museum and was detained by event security. During his arrest, the man began chanting “Free, Free Palestine,” according to Chief Smith.


Also Read | Who is Elias Rodriguez? The man who chanted ‘Free Palestine’ before shooting two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the deaths and informed that efforts are underway to gather more information on the "senseless" killings.

"Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims," she wrote in a post on social media platform X. "We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice," she added.

US President Donald Trump condemned the attack and conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

"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," he said, according to the White House.

Israel’s envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned the attack, calling it a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

"The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC -– in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured -- is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism...Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line," he said in an official statement, reported AFP.