Suspect charged after Israeli Embassy staffers shot dead in Washington, D.C.

booker taliaferro washington, D.C., officials bring home the bacon shot update

Officials ar continuing their investigation into a man now charged with shooting two people who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., as they left an event at a Jewish museum last night. Court documents made public this afternoon say Elias Rodriguez, 31, told police, "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza," after opening fire in the nation's capital.

The city's top prosecutor joined the FBI and leaders from around the world in denouncing the killings as a targeted, antisemitic hate crime and an act of terrorism. Officials with the bureau say investigators are looking at Rodriguez's whereabouts in the hours leading up to the shooting as well as his online activity, alluding to antisemitic and far-right posts purported to have been authored by the suspect.

The victims were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, a couple dedicated to pursuing peace in the Middle East. Lischinsky had planned to propose in a matter of days.

We will have more updates on this story at cbc.ca/news..

The affidavit said a 9-mm handgun was recovered from the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives later determined the gun was purchased by Rodriguez in Illinois, his home state, in March 2020.

WARNING: The following contains distressing details.

Police have surveillance footage of the shooting, according to the affidavit. Hagenbaugh said the footage shows a suspect — wearing clothes consistent to the clothing Rodriguez was wearing — crossing F Street toward the museum. He initially walked past the victims as they stood on the sidewalk, waiting to cross the road, but turned and shot them from behind.

Hagenbaugh's statement said the suspect approached the victims and fired again, including at Milgrim as she tried to crawl away.

The affidavit said Rodriguez approached a police officer inside the museum on his own and confessed.

"Rodriguez spontaneously stated on scene to MPD, ‘I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,’" the court document reads. "As MPD officers were escorting Rodriguez from the museum, he shouted 'Free Palestine.'"

An FBI agent swore an affidavit in U.S. District Court as part of Rodriguez's case. In the six-page document, agent Christina Hagenbaugh said Metropolitan police were first called to a shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum just after 9 p.m. ET.

She said officers arrived to find Lischinsky and Milgrim had both been shot. The affidavit said Lischinsky was pronounced dead on the scene at 9:14 p.m., while Milgrim was pronounced dead at the chief medical examiner's office at 9:35 p.m.

Steven Jensen, who is the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office for the FBI, reiterates that this “was an act of terror” and anti-semitic violence against the Jewish community. He said the bureau is continuing to investigate and contact the suspect’s friends, family and co-workers.

They are also looking to search his mobile devices, social media devices and other “writings” online that appear to have been authored by the suspect. Jensen said investigators are looking to verify whether it was Rodriguez who wrote the passages in question.

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith first offers condolences to the family. She said investigators are working to analyze the suspect’s movements in the city before the shooting. Rodriguez flew to the city from Chicago on Tuesday, according to the FBI.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser echoes Pirro in saying killings like these “will not be tolerated” in the capital. She said the museum where the shooting took place “celebrates local Jewish life,” with a focus on how Jewish people and families have contributed to the community.

Suspect could face more charges, U.S. Attorney says

Police are investigating the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers as a possible hate crime and act of terror, on top of the 'initial' murder and other charges laid against the alleged gunman, said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., at a Thursday news conference. 'These crimes are not going to be tolerated by me and by this office,' she said.

“We’re going to continue to investigate this as a hate crime and as a crime of terrorism,” she said, “and we will add additional charges as the evidence warrants," Pirro says.

She said investigators are going through “massive amounts” of evidence. She also said the case would be eligible for the death penalty but that it was “far too early” to say whether prosecutors would pursue that option.

“These crimes are not going to be tolerated by me and by this office. A young couple … about to be engaged … had their bodies removed in the cold of the night, in a foreign city, in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore,” said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, is charged with the murder of foreign officials, two counts of first-degree murder and firearms offences in connection with the shooting. He is from Chicago, officials say.

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