Suspect in Fatal Israeli Embassy Staffer Shooting Charged With Murder

The Justice Department charged Elias Rodriguez, whom they allege shot and killed two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. Wednesday evening, with first-degree murder on Thursday. Interim US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the DOJ was investigating the shooting as both an act of terrorism and a hate crime and that it “will add additional charges as the evidence warrants.” CNN reports Rodriguez did not enter a plea and will remain in custody.

An F.B.I. affidavit said that Rodriguez, 31, told police, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” He reportedly told authorities that he was unarmed and was holding a red kaffiyeh at the time of the arrest. When police officers were escorting him away from the Capital Jewish Museum, where the shooting took place, Rodriguez shouted, “Free Palestine,” the affidavit said.

The victims of the shooting were Yaron Lischinsky, who grew up in Israel and Germany, and Sarah Milgrim, who was from Kansas. The two had been in a relationship and The New York Times reports Lischinsky intended to propose marriage to Milgrim on an upcoming trip to Jerusalem. They had attended an event at the museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. D.C. police chief Pamela A. Smith told reporters on Thursday that bystanders had spotted the suspect pacing outside the museum before approaching a group of people.

According to the affidavit, the suspect shot the couple in their backs multiple times. “Once the [couple] fell to the ground, Rodriguez is captured on the video advancing closer to the decedents leaning over with them, with his arm extended and firing several more times,” it says. “As [Milgrim] attempted to crawl away from Rodriguez he followed behind her and fired again.”

The affidavit said that Rodriguez “expressed admiration” for a person who set himself on fire outside Washington, D.C.’s Israeli Embassy in February, calling him a “martyr.” He reportedly made these comments after authorities read him his Miranda rights.

Rodriguez’s social media displayed a post condemning the Israel-Hamas war and the Israeli and American governments, according to the Times. Authorities raided the suspect’s home in Chicago on Thursday.
Trending Stories
A Momfluencer’s Son Drowned. Now Other Parents Are Rethinking How Much They Share Online
Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Told Jersey Shore Gig 'Too Risky' After Real Bruce's Anti-Trump Comments
Trump Gloats Over Passage of Bill That Will Kick Millions Off Medicaid, Food Aid
South African President Calls Out Trump: ‘I’m Sorry I Don’t Have a Plane to Give You’

FBI Assistant Director Steven Jensen, who is in charge of the Washington Field Office, told reporters on Thursday there was “nothing in criminal records, or in our holdings” that indicated Rodriguez was a threat.

The next hearing in the case will be on June 18.