The suspect within the deadly capturing of two Israeli Embassy workers exterior the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night time has been recognized as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago.
Rodriguez allegedly shot and killed the victims — a pair about to change into engaged, based on Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. — as they have been leaving the museum, which is positioned within the coronary heart of the U.S. capital. In accordance with police and video from the scene, he shouted “free, free Palestine” as he was being taken into custody.
Israel’s overseas ministry recognized the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. Milgrim was an American who grew up within the Kansas Metropolis space, graduated from the College of Kansas and earned a grasp’s diploma at American College, her father stated. Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog stated Lischinsky was an Israeli citizen.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela A. Smith stated authorities consider the capturing was dedicated by a single suspect who’s now in custody.
What we all know in regards to the capturing scene
The suspect had been seen “pacing forwards and backwards exterior of the museum” earlier than he approached a bunch of 4 individuals, “produced a handgun” and fatally shot the 2 victims, Smith stated at a information convention. He entered the museum proper after the capturing and museum safety arrested him, based on Smith.
“The suspect recognized the place he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered,” Smith stated, including that he “implied that he dedicated the offense.”
The suspect chanted “free, free Palestine” whereas he was being arrested, video confirmed.
“Early indicators are that that is an act of focused violence,” Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, stated in a put up on social media, including that the suspect was being interviewed by D.C. police at the side of the FBI.
The capturing was being investigated as a hate crime, a regulation enforcement supply stated.
What we all know in regards to the suspect’s background
The suspect did not seem in an preliminary search of crime databases and wasn’t on regulation enforcements’ radar, Metropolitan Police stated.
The suspect was from Chicago, and a big regulation enforcement presence blocked off roads in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood Thursday morning as officers executed a search believed to be linked to the capturing, CBS Information Chicago reported. The FBI confirmed their Chicago discipline workplace is conducting “court-authorized regulation enforcement exercise” in that space.
CBS Information recognized an X account belonging to the suspect. It has a historical past of posts about pro-Palestine activism, frustration with the media protection of the Israel-Hamas conflict, inflammatory posts about Israel and dialogue of violence for political achieve.
The Chicago-based American Osteopathic Data Affiliation (AOIA) stated in an announcement that he was an worker on the not-for-profit commerce affiliation, which focuses on advancing IT use in osteopathic medication.
“We have been shocked and saddened to be taught that an AOIA worker has been arrested as a suspect on this horrific crime,” stated the president and the CEO of the American Osteopathic Affiliation, or AOA, which represents greater than 197,000 osteopathic physicians and osteopathic medical college students.
“Each the AOIA and AOA stand able to cooperate with the investigation in any approach we will,” stated the assertion from AOA president Teresa Hubka and CEO Kathleen Creason. “As a doctor group devoted to defending the well being and sanctity of human life, we consider within the rights of all individuals to reside safely with out worry of violence.”
His LinkedIn account says he had labored for AOIA since July 2024 as an administrative specialist. Previous to that, Rodriguez labored as an Oral Historical past Researcher at The HistoryMakers, the place, based on a now-removed biography web page, he ready “detailed analysis outlines and biographies of achieved leaders within the African American neighborhood.”
The police and the FBI have been combing by the suspect’s social media, and digital units belonging to the suspect have been seized, based on a regulation enforcement supply.
No particulars on the gun buy or legality of the weapon have been referred to as of early Thursday morning.
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Pat Milton and
contributed to this report.
