Man accused of killing Israeli Embassy staffers in DC charged with murder

The Justice Department is investigating the murder of two Israeli Embassy staff members as both an act of terrorism and a hate crime, interim US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said today.

Pirro said the murder charges filed today are “initial,” and said that “we will add additional charges as the evidence warrants.”

“Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital,” Pirro said.

Police recovered 21 fired bullets and a 9mm handgun, according to court documents.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in running a trace of the gun recovered from the scene, discovered that it was purchased by suspected shooter Elias Rodriguez in March 2020 in Illinois.

Rodriguez allegedly flew from Chicago to Washington, DC, on May 20 and declared a firearm in his checked bag, court documents note.

During an interview, Rodriguez told investigators that he had “purchased a ticket to the event at the Museum approximately three hours prior to its commencement,” according to prosecutors.

The Justice Department charged Elias Rodriguez, 31, with federal murder charges in connection to the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members.

At least one of the charges — using a firearm to commit murder — carries the possibility of the death penalty. The Justice Department levied the same capital charge earlier this year against Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.

Rodriguez is also charged with first degree murder, murdering foreign officials, and using a firearm during a violent crime.

Rodriguez is making his initial appearance in a Washington, DC, federal courthouse this afternoon. He was arrested yesterday at the scene of the killings in downtown DC.

Court documents describe how surveillance footage shows suspected shooter Elias Rodriguez allegedly walking across the street toward the two victims as they were preparing to leave the area.

Here’s what is told in the court documents:

Rodriguez allegedly “walked past” the two victims before “he turned to face their backs and brandished a firearm from the area of his waistband.”

He then fired at the two Israeli embassy staffers several times and then went toward the victims after they had fallen to the ground, leaning over them “with his arm extended, and firing several more times.”

As the woman tried to crawl away, Rodriguez allegedly “followed behind her and fired again.” Rodriguez then appeared to reload his firearm as the woman began to sit up, and, once he reloaded, he allegedly shot at her again, the documents detailed.

Police work at the crime scene where two Israeli Embassy staff members were killed yesterday evening outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, in Washington, D.C.

The United Arab Emirates has denounced the killing of two Israeli Embassy staff members in Washington, DC, last night.

In 2020, the UAE and Israel established relations under the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement with the United States.

Qatar called the shooting an act of “violence and terrorism,” describing the incident as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

The statement from Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also extended its condolences to the victims’ families.

This post has been updated with Qatar’s statement.

Police officers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, , on Thursday.

Police in Washington, DC, are increasing the number of officers present at religious institutions across the city, the department said in a post on X.

It comes after two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed last night following an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.

It said the move to put more police around religious institutions was made “out of an abundance of caution.”

Law enforcement in other cities have also announced they are implementing more security measures around religious sites, including the New York City Police Department and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

Elias Rodriguez, the suspect in last night’s shooting, is currently in a holding cell inside the federal courthouse in Washington, DC, awaiting his initial appearance this afternoon, according to a person familiar with his whereabouts.

The suspect in the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staff seated while in police custody at the Capital Jewish Museum.

Jonathan Epstein, who was at the Capital Jewish Museum last night at the time two Israeli Embassy staffers were shot and killed, shared photos from the scene with CNN.

The images show the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, seated and handcuffed. The photos also show police in SWAT gear inside the museum moments after the deadly shootings.

Epstein told CNN today that he initially thought the loud noises at the museum were construction, and that he looked the shooter in the eyes just before his arrest.

“The event had just wrapped up. A couple of us were touring the galleries upstairs and out of nowhere, we hear a series of loud bangs, just ‘boom, boom, boom,’ one after the other. And my friend was like, ‘Were those gunshots?’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no that was just construction, we’re fine,’” Epstein said on “CNN News Central.”

Police in SWAT gear are seen inside the museum shortly after the incident on Wednesday, May 21.

“Then we went downstairs to the main lobby where the event was held. A man rushed in and said he had dislocated his shoulder, said there were indeed gunshots. Security at the event ushered us quickly back into a safe location behind the main room, and we were there for a few minutes.”

Epstein said he thought it was a “random shooting” in the neighborhood at first. Then he heard a man yell “free Palestine,” which he still initially thought to just be a protester in the area.

“I had no idea that he was the shooter. I walk out. I see him yelling again. I see security right now, they run, grab him and take him outside and he is still yelling, and I had no idea he was the shooter. We got pretty close; I was 10 feet away from him. I look him in the eyes and then I stepped back,” he said.

This post has been updated with an additional photo from Epstein.

Albany Park resident John Fry, 71, told CNN he was the next-door neighbor of Washington, DC, shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez.

Albany Park resident John Fry, 71, told CNN he was the next-door neighbor of Washington, DC, shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez.

Speaking outside his apartment building, Fry said Rodriguez has lived in the apartment next to his for about the past two years. He added that Rodriguez lived with a woman, although he said he did not know what their relationship was or the woman’s name.

“He was my next-door neighbor. They were very quiet, they were very friendly,” Fry said. Public records appear to show they do live in the same building.

“You would never expect something like this. My goodness, they had Hello Kitty on their front door,” Fry said.

He added he was shocked to learn of Rodriguez’s involvement.

“It shocked me. I heard that the shooter was from Chicago, but to have it be my next-door neighbor?” he added.

Fry said he never had any political conversations with Rodriguez.

“We never did (talk politics) and now today, I regret that I never had a conversation with him because as you can tell I’ve been around a while,” Fry said, referring to his own age.

“You don’t end war with guns and bombs,” Fry said. “You end the war by going to the people, patiently explaining, and you know a vote is much more powerful than a bullet or a bomb.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes question during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 22.

The White House said “hatred has no place in the United States of America under President Donald Trump” and vowed that the man suspected of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC, last night would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing to reporters today that Trump is “saddened and outraged” over the killing of the embassy workers.

Later in the briefing, Leavitt touted actions the administration has taken against college campuses to “crack down on antisemitism.” She highlighted moves to withhold federal funding from schools that don’t comply with their policy demands and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s efforts to revoke “thousands of student visas.”

“So the president’s made it very clear that such hatred will have no place in our country,” Leavitt said.

She called the two diplomats killed, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a “beautiful young couple” and talked about their love for each other. They were expected to be engaged, officials said.

Leavitt said she talked to Attorney General Pam Bondi this morning. The Justice Department will be “prosecuting the perpetrator responsible for this to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.

This post has been updated with additional remarks from Leavitt.