Two members of the Israeli embassy staff were killed in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
The FBI is treating the incident as a potential targeted attack, ABC News reports.
Witnesses reported that the suspect, who is in custody, shouted “free, free Palestine” after the shooting.
During a press briefing on Thursday morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar identified the two embassy employees who tragically lost their lives in the shooting incident as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
Sa’ar mentioned that the couple had been participating in a Jewish conference organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) when they became victims of a dreadful terrorist assault.
Police identified Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, as the shooter.
Chief of the Metropolitan Police, Pamela Smith, indicated that Rodriguez was observed lingering outside the museum before he unleashed gunfire from a handgun towards a group of four individuals. Subsequently, he proceeded into the museum, where law enforcement officials apprehended him.
Rodriguez reportedly pointed out where he discarded the weapon and allegedly suggested that he had committed the killings.
”The suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered,” Smith said, according to CBS News.
Metropolitan Police stated that initial searches of crime databases revealed no information about the suspect, who was not known to law enforcement.
Police and FBI agents are now examining the suspect’s social media, and seized electronic devices belonging to the suspect, according to a law enforcement source.
BBC News reports that the FBI is currently looking into “ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime.”
The suspect is expected in court Thursday.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: X / Embassy of Israel to the USA / @IsraelinUSA]
