Two shot dead outside Jewish museum in Washington DC

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have reacted to the horrific shooting outside a Jewish museum that left two Israeli embassy workers dead.

A man is in custody after a man and a woman, two Israeli embassy workers, have been shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.

One man is in custody following the attack, where he allegedly shouted: “Free Palestine”.

Both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reacted furiously to what they describe as a plain-as-day antisemitic attack.

“These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“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! God Bless You ALL!”

Netanyahu said the attack was a “wild incitement against the State of Israel”.

“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel. The blood libels against Israel are rising in blood and must be fought to the bitter end,” he said.

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), confirmed that the organisation had hosted an event at the museum that night.

“We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,“ he said. ”At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”

Two people have been shot outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC.

Shots fired outside Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Picture: ABC 7 News – WJLA

Both victims are understood to have ties to a foreign embassy, with multiple sources confirming that at least one of them is believed to be a staff member of the Israeli Embassy. Picture: ABC 7 News – WJLA

One of the victims was initially transported to a local hospital in critical condition, according to ABC News sources.

A person of interest is currently being questioned by police.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro visited the scene shortly after the shooting.

A man draped in the Israeli flag, bearing a cross and the name ‘Jesus’ at its centre, gestures as Metropolitan Police officers secure the area. (Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP)

The Israeli embassy in Washington. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

“Praying for the victims of this violence as we work to learn more,” Bondi wrote in a post on X.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon condemned the attack as a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism” on X. “Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” he wrote.

More to come.

Originally published as Two shot dead outside Jewish museum in Washington DC