Two Israeli embassy workers were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, chanted “Free Palestine” after fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, at about 9 p.m. authorities said.
Yechiel Leiter, Israeli ambassador to the United States, said the two victims killed were a “young couple about to be engaged,” USA Today reported.
California officials, including the state governor and representatives, issued statements of solace and condemnation following the attack.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is “horrified” by the incident and says antisemitism must be deplored in the U.S. and beyond. “It must be condemned in the strongest terms,” he said in a post on X early Thursday.
California Senator Adam Schiff expressed similar sentiments regarding the shooting, stating that his “heart breaks” over the victims and their families. He is calling the incident a “targeted act of antisemitic violence.”
California Representatives Robert Garcia and Young Kim also expressed “heartbroken” statements on X following the D.C. shooting. “No one should live in fear because of their faith,” Kim wrote.
Rodriguez was interviewed by the D.C. police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force team, Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino said overnight. “Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” Bongino said.
Here’s what USA Today reported about the suspect:
Rodriguez, 30, is from Chicago, according to authorities.
A LinkedIn profile that appears to belong to Rodriguez shows that he works for the Chicago-based American Osteopathic Information Association as a profiles administration specialist.
