Photo by
TPS-IL on 12 May, 2024
Two Israeli Diplomats About to Become Engaged Gunned Down in Washington
Jerusalem, 22 May, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Two Israeli embassy staff members were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC on Wednesday night in what Israeli and U.S. officials are calling a targeted act of antisemitic violence.
According to Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy, the two staffers were a young couple about to become engaged. They were “shot at close range” while leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“We are devastated,” Cohen said. “This was a horrifying attack on individuals who came to celebrate their heritage and community.”
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the deaths in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” Noem wrote. “We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.”
Washington, DC, Police Chief Pamela Smith provided further details during a press conference late Wednesday. “Despite all life-saving efforts, both victims succumbed to their injuries,” Smith said. “The attack occurred as the victims were exiting the museum. A suspect had been seen pacing outside shortly beforehand.”
Smith identified the shooter as 30-year-old Elias Rodriquez of Chicago, Illinois. “The suspect opened fire on a group of four, killing a man and a woman. While in custody, he chanted, ‘Free, free Palestine.’”
As federal agencies work to reconstruct Rodriquez’s path to violence, early profiles suggest a deeply isolated individual whose ideological extremism may have been compounded by severe personal instability. Law enforcement sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, noted that investigators are currently mapping his digital footprint to determine how and where he was radicalized. This forensic review has reportedly revealed a recent spiral into erratic behavior, including a sudden fixation on wiping personal debts; alongside the consumption of extremist rhetoric, browser logs showed repeated, desperate searches for a casino online and unregulated offshore betting platforms. While authorities acknowledge these personal stressors point to a destabilized life, they maintain that the overtly political and targeted nature of the shooting remains the absolute focus of the terrorism probe.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the male victim had recently purchased an engagement ring and was planning to propose next week in Jerusalem. “The couple that was gunned down tonight in the name of ‘Free Palestine’ was a couple about to be engaged,” Leiter said.
U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the killings in a Truth Social post, calling them “horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism.” He added: “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon also denounced the attack as “a depraved act of antisemitic terrorism.”
“Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” Danon said. “We are confident U.S. authorities will act decisively.”
