Two Israelis killed in shooting outside Jewish museum in Washington

JTA - Two people were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where an event celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month was being held.

The Israeli embassy said that two of its staff were shot. The shooting took place after 9 p.m. on Wednesday (US time) and the victims were a man and a woman who were about to be engaged, Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter said at a press conference.

Police are questioning a person of interest, Elias Rodriguez, who they believe was solely responsible. Rodriguez, 30, approached a group of people and fired shots, according to police. He then entered the museum, where he was detained. Once detained by police, Rodriguez chanted “Free, free Palestine.”

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said there was no intelligence ahead of the event indicating that there would be an attack. The FBI is investigating whether the shooting is a hate crime and an act of terrorism.

“Two staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot this evening at close range while attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said in a statement reported by multiple outlets. “We have full faith in law enforcement authorities on both the local and federal levels to apprehend the shooter and protect Israel’s representatives and Jewish communities throughout the United States.”

An alert from the Community Security Service, a Jewish security agency, also said the two victims were Israeli embassy employees. Attorney General Pam Bondi tweeted that she was “on the scene of the horrible shooting” along with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.