‘Make no mistake, US will track down’: Marco Rubio on Jewish museum shooters

US secretarial assistant of say Marco Rubio said on th that authorities would “ caterpillar track land those responsible” for the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.

"This was a brazen act of cowardly, antisemitic violence. Make no mistake: we will track down those responsible and bring them to justice," Marco Rubio posted on X.

Two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, and the suspect yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, police said.

The two victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, Smith said.

When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Smith said. Smith said law enforcement did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the community.

Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged, saying the man had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was at the scene with former judge Jeanine Pirro, who serves as the US attorney in Washington and whose office would prosecute the case.

“These horrible D.C. Killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!" President Donald Trump posted on social media early Thursday. "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!’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “devastated” by the scenes in Washington.

“This is a despicable act of hatred, of antisemitism, which has claimed the lives of two young employees of the Israeli embassy. Our hearts are with the loved ones of those murdered and our immediate prayers are with the injured. I send my full support to the Ambassador and all the embassy staff."

He added: "We stand with the Jewish community in DC and across the US. America and Israel will stand united in defense of our people and our shared values. Terror and hate will not break us.”

The shooting comes as Israel has launched a new campaign targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a war that has set tensions aflame across the wider Middle East. The war began with the Palestinian militant group Hamas coming out of Gaza on October 7, 2023, to kill 1,200 people and take some 250 hostages back to the coastal enclave.

(With inputs from AP)

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