Man suspected of shooting Israeli embassy staffers in Washington charged with murder

Elias Rodriguez has appeared in court in Washington accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staff members. Charges include murder and carry a possible death penalty.

A candlelight vigil outside the White House after the murder of Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

A man suspected of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staff members told investigators “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza”, according to court records unsealed on Thursday (local time) charging him with murder and other federal crimes that carry the possibility of the death penalty.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, appeared in federal court in Washington on charges including murder, murder of foreign officials and several felony gun crimes. He had flown in from Chicago, where he lives, on Tuesday, according to court filings.

“It is not the act of a hero. Anti-Semitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital,” said Jeanine Pirro, the newly installed interim US attorney in Washington. “This is the kind of case that picks at old sores and old scars, because these kinds of cases remind us of what happened in the past that we cannot and must never forget.”

Investigators are continuing to probe the attack as a hate crime and terrorism, and could file additional charges, Ms Pirro said.

The victims, identified as Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, were a couple about to be engaged. They were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum – in the heart of Washington, steps from an FBI field office – about 9pm on Wednesday when Rodriguez, who had been pacing outside the building, opened fire at close range, killing them both, officials said.

A photo provided by the embassy of Israel shows staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Picture via AP

Police recovered 21 spent shell casings, and evidence showed he had emptied his handgun, continuing to fire even after the couple had fallen to the ground. When Ms Milgrim tried to crawl away, Rodriguez followed her from behind and fired again, reloading his gun, the complaint said.

When police entered the museum, Rodriguez asked to speak to an officer and told him that “he did it”, and that he was unarmed, the complaint said. Witnesses said he was wearing a red scarf known as a keffiyeh and, as officers escorted him from the museum, he shouted, “Free Palestine”.

The brazen shooting sent shockwaves through Washington and prompted increased security at religious institutions.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump said on Truth Social. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

The museum was one of the district’s first synagogues and has long been a cornerstone of Washington’s Jewish community.

The gunman was named by police as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago.

Steven Jensen, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s field office, called the attack “both an act of terror and directed violence against the Jewish community”.

Rodriguez legally purchased the 9mm handgun he used in the attack, and travelled with it from Chicago on a Tuesday flight after declaring a firearm and packing it in his checked baggage, the criminal complaint said.

He was in Washington for a conference related to his job, Mr Jensen said Rodriguez had been working as an administrative specialist at the American Osteopathic Information Association. Rodriguez told investigators he bought a ticket to the museum event about three hours before it started.

He added that he admired a US airman who set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy last year to protest against the war in Gaza, calling him courageous and a martyr.

Investigators were working to piece together what led Rodriguez to violence, reviewing social media, his electronics and poring over online postings, and probing Rodriguez’s past for clues into his motive, including a possible manifesto. Investigators were still working to verify whether it was actually written by Rodriguez and when, Mr Jensen said.

During his court appearance before Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh, Rodriguez wore eyeglasses and a hooded white jail jumpsuit. Represented by a federal public defender, he listened calmly as Judge Sharbaugh read the several charges against him. He did not contest his detention.

On Thursday, mourners gathered at the museum to sing and pray. “Obviously the war is awful,” mourner Gil Livni said. “(But) anti-Semitism, I feel it every day … people that I thought were my friends showing that they are anti-Semitic. It’s become the norm.”

Hadar Susskind, president and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, described the moment as “unbelievably painful … this cannot be the answer”.

The Wall Street Journal