Suspect charged in shooting deaths of 2 Israeli embassy staff

by · UPI

May 22 (UPI) -- The suspect accused of shooting to death two Israeli Embassy staff members on Wednesday night was charged with first-degree murder in federal court on Thursday.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, did not enter a plea during his arraignment hearing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

He is charged with first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, according to an FBI affidavit.

The affidavit says Rodriguez shot and killed two individuals outside Washington's Capital Jewish Museum, where an event was being hosted by the American Jewish Committee.

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"Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters in a press conference that one person, the suspected shooter from Chicago, is in custody.

Police were notified of shots fired at 9:08 p.m. EDT outside the museum near the intersection of 3rd and F Street Northwest.

Officers found two people, a man and a woman -- later identified as Israeli embassy staff members -- unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds, injuries that they succumbed to, she said.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs named the victims in a statement early Thursday as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26.

Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said they were a young couple about to be engaged.

"The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem," he said. "They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington's culture center."

Each died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Rodriguez was arrested inside the Jewish Museum

The FBI warrant affidavit says Rodriguez entered the museum after shooting Milgrim and Lischinsky.

Two police officers entered the building soon after to ask about surveillance footage and identify witnesses.

Rodriguez approached one of the officers and said he "did it" and was unarmed.

The officers took him into custody, and his Illinois driver's license and firearms owner's identification card identified him as Elias A. Rodriguez.

Rodriguez told the officers, "I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed," while holding a red "Kaffiyeh," the FBI affidavit says.

He yelled, "Free, free Palestine," as the officers escorted Rodriguez from the museum.

Several witnesses were identified and interviewed

Law enforcement identified several witnesses and interviewed them at the scene.

One said a male, later identified as Rodriguez, wore a blue hooded raincoat and backpack and tried to light a cigarette standing in the rain outside of the museum.

The witness called Rodriguez's behavior "strange," and said four people exited the Jewish Museum, according to the FBI affidavit.

The witness heard gunshots and ducked until the shooting stopped.

The witness looked again and saw Rodriguez motioning "as if he was attempting to shoot the firearm, but it was not firing," the affidavit says.

Rodriguez then ran away and made a motion that looked like he was throwing away his firearm, the witness said.

Police located a firearm in the vicinity of the area where the witness said Rodriguez made the throwing motion.

Surveillance cameras recorded the attack

Video footage corroborates the witness's account and shows a man with a slim build wearing a blue raincoat and backpack, blue pants and light-colored shoes, which match what Rodriguez wore when he was arrested, the FBI affidavit says.

The footage shows Rodriguez crossing F Street Northwest on foot and in the direction of the Jewish Museum and where Milgrim and Lischinsky were standing with two others while preparing to cross the street.

"Once Rodriguez walked past the decedents and two witnesses, he turned to face their backs and brandished a firearm from the area of his waistband," the affidavit says.

"Rodriguez is captured on the video extending both his arms in the direction of the decedents and firing several times, as indicated by the muzzle flashes.

"Once the decedents fell to the ground, Rodriguez is captured on the video advancing closer to the decedents, leaning over them with his arm extended, and firing several more times," the affidavit says.

As Milgrim "attempted to crawl away from Rodriguez, he followed behind her and fired again," the FBI affidavit says.

Rodriguez reloaded his firearm as Lischinsky sat up and shot him several more times before running toward the museum's entrance.

Forensic investigators found 21 expended 9mm cartridge casings, a 9mm pistol with its slide locked and an empty magazine.

The firearm is the same one Rodriguez purchased on March 6, 2020, in Illinois.

Rodriguez praised 'martyr' who self-immolated

After police detectives read Rodriguez his Miranda rights, he expressed his admiration for an individual who doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2024, according to the FBI affidavit.

Rodriguez called the man a "martyr" and said the man was courageous for drawing attention to the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Rodriguez also told the detectives he bought a ticket to the museum event three hours before it was scheduled to start.

The event was a panel discussion on humanitarian aid in Gaza.

His travel records show Rodriguez flew from Chicago to Reagan National Airport in Virginia on Tuesday.

He declared his firearm in his checked baggage and flew across state lines with the firearm, according to the FBI affidavit.

Alleged membership in far-left, pro-Palestine group

Rodriguez allegedly was an active member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to The Jerusalem Post, which describes the PSL as a "far-left, Marxist, pro-Palestine group."

The PSL denied Rodriguez was among its members.

"We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the D.C. shooting," the PSL said in a post on X as reported by Newsweek.

"Elias Rodrigues is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017," the social media post says.

"We know of no contact with him in over seven years," the PSL said. "We have nothing to do with the shooting and do not support it."

Newsweek said an October 2017 article titled "Chicago Demands Justice for Laquan, Not Money from Amazon," describes Rodriguez as being "from the Party for Socialism and Liberation."

The article says the wealth generated by Amazon in Seattle has not been shared with the city's black residents.

Amazon's "whitening of Seattle is structurally racist and a direct danger to all workers who live in that city," Rodriguez is quoted as saying in the article.

The PSL has removed the article from its website, Newsweek reported.

Rodriquez was born and raised in Chicago and is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported.

He is the son of an Iraq War veteran and labor activist who is employed at a Chicago-area veteran's affairs hospital.

Rodriguez worked as an administrative assistant for a healthcare company based in Chicago.

FBI agents searched Rodriguez's apartment in Chicago's Albany neighborhood on Thursday.

Mayor calls shooting an 'act of terrorism'

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested the attack was terrorism.

"We will not tolerate this violence or hate in our city," she said. "We will not tolerate any acts of terrorism, and we're going to stand together as a community in the coming days and weeks to send a clear message that we will not tolerate anti-Semitism."

Assistant Director Steven Jensen of the FBI Washington Field Office, which is located near where the shooting occurred, said they are aiding the MPD in the homicide investigation.

Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino confirmed in a statement that the suspect was being interviewed by MPD and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

"Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence," he said.

AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that the committee was "devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue."

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that she was at the scene of the crime. Leiter said she had handed him a cellphone following the shooting.

"On the end of the line was the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who told me that his administration is going to everything it can possibly do to fight and end anti-Semitism and the hatred that's being directed -- the demonization and the delegitimization of the State of Israel," he said.

In a post to his social media platform Truth Social, the American president called for the end of anti-Semitic violence.

"These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on anti-Semitism, must end NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA," he said.

"Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things can happen!"

President Isaac Herzog of Israel said he was "devastated" by the shooting.

"This is a despicable act of hatred, of anti-Semitism, which has claimed the lives of two young employees of the Israeli embassy," he said on X.

"America and Israel will stand united in defense of our people and our shared values," he continued. "Terror and hate will not break us."