WASHINGTON — Two staff members from the Israeli embassy — a young couple about to be engaged — were shot and killed Wednesday night outside an event at a Jewish museum by a man who allegedly chanted "free, free Palestine" after he was detained by security officers.
Many U.S. and Israeli officials identified the attacks as the latest in a marked rise of antisemitic incidents in recent years — and more notably, as Israel ramps up its offensive in Gaza, where the risk of famine looms for a population ground down by a months-long blockade.
Israel's foreign ministry identified the two victims of Wednesday night's attack as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.
Speaking to reporters, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the pair was about to become engaged. "The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem," he said.
Here's what we know so far.
What happened?
Shortly after 9 p.m. ET, as an event for young diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee wrapped up at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown D.C., a man was observed "pacing back and forth" outside the building, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters.
The man approached a group of four people, then opened fire, Smith said. Two people were killed — a man and woman who were a couple, officials said. Afterward, the shooter entered the museum and was detained by event security, Smith said.
"The suspect chanted 'free, free Palestine' while in custody," Smith added. Police said they had tentatively identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago. He did not have any prior known encounters with police, Smith said. It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had legal representation.
Who were the victims?
26-year-old Sarah Milgrim was an American born in Kansas, and 30-year-old Yaron Lischinsky was originally from Germany but immigrated to Israel when he was 16, according to his LinkedIn profile. He held citizenship in both countries, according to both the Israeli and German governments.
"Sarah and Yaron were stolen from us," said Ted Deutch, chief executive of the AJC, the organization behind the event the two were attending at the museum. "Moments before they were murdered, they were smiling, laughing, and enjoying an event with colleagues and friends. We are in shock and heartbroken as we attempt to process this immense tragedy."
Milgrim worked in the embassy's public diplomacy department, and Lischinsky was a researcher focused on the Middle East and North Africa region. On his LinkedIn profile, Lischinsky wrote that he was an "advocate for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding" between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Milgrim grew up in Prairie Village, a suburb of Kansas City, and was a member of a reform synagogue nearby, B'nai Jehudah. In a statement, the temple called Milgrim "a devoted Zionist and a radiant presence in every space she entered."
"She stood for something larger than herself and she paid the ultimate price for it," the statement said, calling for unity in the community in response to the attack.
Sarah's father, Robert Milgrim, told member station KCUR that education is important to stop acts of violence like the ones that took his daughter's life. "There just needs to be something done to make people realize that we're many different people living in the U.S., but there's no reason to hate one another," he said. "This hate cannot divide us. We need to overcome it."
Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas posted on X about the attack, saying "People in our area know the pain of religious-based violence. We pray for its end." A Jewish community center in Overland Park was the site of a 2014 shooting that killed three people and was later deemed a hate crime by law enforcement.
In a post on X, Shoval Ronen said that he taught Lischinsky at the Argaman Institute in Jerusalem, saying he was "a Christian, a great lover of Israel, who immigrated to Israel, served in the army, and decided to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and Zionism."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he spoke with the parents of both victims, saying that he "shares in their great grief along with the entire people of Israel."
Who is the suspect?
The suspect has been identified as Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Ill.
He was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and was being interviewed early Thursday by D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI.
Rodriguez was born and raised in Chicago and resided in the northwest neighborhood of Albany Park, in an apartment on a quiet, leafy residential side street.
The windows of an apartment believed to be his were covered with political signs facing the street below. Some signs were for local politicians and causes, but several others addressed Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas. One called for a ceasefire, while another demanded "Free Palestine!" in handwritten letters and a third said "Justice for Wadea," referring to six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian-American who was stabbed to death in his home by his family's landlord shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
Rodriguez was an employee of the American Osteopathic Association. In a statement, the organization said it was "shocked and saddened" that an employee had been arrested as a suspect in the attack, and said it was fully cooperating with the investigation.
Steve Jensen, with the FBI's Washington field office, called the shooting "a heinous crime." The FBI is investigating "ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias-based crime or a hate crime," he said.
NPR's Odette Yousef contributed to this report from Chicago, and NPR's Jennifer Ludden contributed from Washington. Shir David contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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