2 employees of the Israeli message who were killed in DC at the shootout near the Jewish Museum

Washington (AP) – Two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot on Wednesday evening when he left an event in a Jewish museum, and the suspect screamed after his arrest, “Free, Free Palestine,” said the police.

The attack sent shock waves around the world and prompted Israeli missions to improve their security.

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

The suspect, which was identified as Elias Rodriguez (30) from Chicago, was observed before the museum before shooting, went to the museum after the shootout and was arrested by event security, said Smith.

When he was taken into custody, the suspect began to sing, “free, free Palestine,” said Smith. Smith said the law enforcement authorities had not believed that the municipality existed a continued threat.

“These terrible DC murders, which are obviously based on anti -Semitism, now have to end!” President Donald Trump released on social media early Thursday. “Hate and radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Israel's reaction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he was “shocked” by the “terrible, anti -Semitic” shootout.

“We are experiencing the terrible price of anti -Semitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in an explanation.

The Israeli ambassador with the US Yechiel Head said that the two people killed were a young couple who is just engaged and said the man bought a ring this week to suggest in Jerusalem next week. Your identities were not published immediately.

Former Israeli ambassador to Mike Her Herzog told Israeli radio that the woman killed was an American employee of the message and that the man was Israeli.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was with the former judge Jeanine Pirro at the scene, who serves as a US lawyer in Washington and would pursue the case.

The explanation from Netanyah's office said that he spoke to Bondi, who told him that Trump was “involved in the administration of the incident”, and the United States would put the perpetrator on trial.

It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had a lawyer who could comment on his name. A telephone number listed in public records rang unanswered.

Dan Bongino, deputy director of the FBI, wrote in a contribution on social media that “early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence”.

Israel's new campaign in Gaza

The influential Pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera was broadcast on a loop that apparently was the mobile phone of the alleged shooter and wore a suit jacket and pants and was pulled away after shooting, his hands behind his back.

The shootout is how Israel started a new campaign for Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a war that has set the tensions in flames throughout the Middle East. The war began with the Palestinian militant militant group Hamas, which came from Gaza on October 7, 2023 to kill 1,200 people and bring around 250 hostages back to the coasts.

In the period since then, the devastating campaign in Israel in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mainly women and children, according to the local health authorities, the count of which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. The battles displaced 90% of the approximately 2 million population of the territory, triggered a hunger crisis and wiped out huge parts of the city landscape of Gaza.

“In the cold blood”

Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were in the museum when they heard shots and a man came in and looked desperate, they said. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water because he thought he needed help without realizing that he was the suspect. When the police arrived, he pulled out a red Keffiyeh and repeatedly screamed “Free Palestine,” said Kalin.

“This event was about humanitarian aid,” said Kalin. “How can we help both people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring Muslims, Jews and Christians together to work together to actually help innocent people? And then he only murdered two people in cold blood.”

Last week, the Capital Jewish Museum was one of the local non -profit organizations in Washington, which from a 500,000 dollar scholarship program has to increase its security. The leaders of the museum were concerned because, according to NBC4 Washington, it is a Jewish organization and because of their new LGBTQ exhibition.

“We recognize that threats are also associated,” the Executive Director Beatrice Gurwitz told the television station. “And again we would like to make sure that our room for everyone who comes here is so inviting and safe while we explore these stories.”

In response to the shootout, the museum said in a explanation that they are “deeply sad and horrified by the senseless violence outside of the museum this evening”.

The Jewish Federation of the CEO of Greater Washington, Gil Preuss, said in an explanation that he was horrified by the shootout and mourned the loss of the two people killed.

“Our hearts are with their families and relatives and all those who are affected by this tragic act of anti -Semitic violence,” he said.

In the past, Israeli diplomats of violence were targeted, both by state attackers and Palestinian militants in the decades of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which in 1948 emerged from the founding of Israel. However, the peace process between the pages has been stalled for years.

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AP writers Alanna Durkin Reicher, Hallie Golden and Jon Gambrell contributed.