WASHINGTON: Two Israeli embassy workers had been killed in a taking pictures exterior an occasion on the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday (Could 21) night time, and a suspect is in custody, officers mentioned.
A person and a girl had been shot and killed within the space of third and F streets in Northwest, which is close to the museum, an FBI area workplace and the US lawyer’s workplace. The victims had been a younger couple who had been engaged to be married, mentioned Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US.
A single suspect, recognized as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, is in custody, Washington police chief Pamela Smith mentioned.
Rodriguez was seen pacing exterior the museum earlier than he approached a gaggle of 4 individuals, produced a handgun and opened hearth.
“After the taking pictures the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by occasion safety,” mentioned Smith.
She mentioned that the handcuffed suspect recognized the place he had discarded the weapon and chanted: “Free Palestine, free Palestine.”
The suspect had no earlier contact with police, she added.
US President Donald Trump referred to as the taking pictures “horrible”, including that it was “based mostly clearly on antisemitism”.
“Hatred and Radicalism don’t have any place within the USA,” the president mentioned in a publish on social media platform Fact Social.
“Condolences to the households of the victims. So mentioned that things like this will occur!”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised the authorities would monitor down these accountable.
“This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Make no mistake: we’ll monitor down these accountable and convey them to justice,” he posted on X.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog additionally condemned the incident.
