Two Israeli Embassy staff shot dead outside Jewish museum in Washington DC
Global Times
Incident underscores spillover effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: expert
By Fan Anqi and Liu Xin Published: May 22, 2025 02:56 PM
Two staff members of Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC, were shot dead outside the district's Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night local time, officials said, and one suspect has been taken into custody, according to Washington police, US media reported.
US President Donald Trump condemned the violence and sent his condolences to the families of the two victims, saying that antisemitism, "hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA," per CNN.
The suspect was identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, who chanted "Free Free Palestine" while in custody, police said. An eyewitness said the suspected shooter "pretended to be a witness" and waited for police to arrive for over 10 minutes before saying he "did it for Gaza," the CNN report said.
Rodriguez is currently being interviewed by the Washington DC Metropolitan Police along with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces, according to Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who said the shooting happened close to the FBI's Washington Field Office.
The close-range shooting occurred shortly after 9 pm on a downtown street outside an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, in the heart of official Washington, reported the New York Times.
The sold-out "Young Diplomats Reception" is described as an event "bringing together Jewish young professionals (22-45) and the diplomatic community," according to its Eventbrite page. The two Israeli embassy staff members who were shot dead were leaving the event, according to Pamela A. Smith, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador, told reporters at a news conference that the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged, "A young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem." The victims were named by the embassy as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgram, according to NBC News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday expressed deep shock and outrage over the killing. He ordered an increase to security arrangements at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world, his office said in a statement. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the incident, calling it a "despicable antisemitic terror attack" and adding that Israel stands with the US Jewish community, reported the Times of Israel.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: "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!"
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on X that "This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Make no mistake: we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice."
Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that "the incident in DC underscores the spillover effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
The fatal incident came on the same day as the Israeli army said its soldiers fired "warning shots" near foreign diplomats, who included representatives of the European Union, the UK, Russia and China, after they deviated from a previously agreed-on route. No one was injured in the incident, according to a report from Al Jazeera.
More than a dozen governments, including those of Canada, UK, France and Mexico, have condemned Israeli forces for firing "warning shots" near diplomats, said the report.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that China pays high attention to the incident, firmly opposes any actions that endanger the safety of diplomatic personnel, and calls for a thorough investigation to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Mao noted that the situation in the West Bank has remained tense for some time, and China urges all relevant parties, particularly Israel, to refrain from any actions that could further escalate tensions.
Sun said any form of violence targeting diplomatic personnel should be opposed.
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