Suspect charged with murder in fatal DC shooting of two Israel embassy aides
Elias Rodriguez, 31, is accused of opening fire on a group of people on Wednesday night as they left an event for young diplomats hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that supports Israel and fights antisemitism.
Rodriguez told police on the scene, "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza", according to the charging documents. Witnesses recounted hearing him chant "Free Palestine" after he was taken into custody.
The two victims struck by gunfire and killed were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple about to become engaged to be married.
Friends and members of advocacy groups they belonged to said the pair were committed to building bridges between Arabs and Jews in hopes of ending bloodshed in the Middle East.
After the shooting, Israeli embassies around the world immediately stepped up security.
In addition to two counts of first-degree murder, Rodriguez was charged in a six-page criminal complaint with murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence.
Interim US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, newly appointed by President Donald Trump as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, said at a news briefing that the complaint against Rodriguez constitutes a "death penalty-eligible case".
At his first appearance in court on Thursday, the suspect waived his right to a detention hearing, and a preliminary hearing in the case was set for Jun 18, Pirro said.
The charges were filed in federal court as FBI and police investigators pored over apparent writings and political affiliations of the suspect.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino posted on social media that investigators were "aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect" and hoped to soon have updates regarding their authenticity.
Bongino's statement appeared to refer to a manifesto signed with Rodriguez's name that was posted to an anonymous X account on Wednesday night shortly before the shooting.
Posted with the title "Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home", it condemned Israel's killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians since the October 2023 Hamas attacks, and discussed the morality of "armed" action.
"In the wake of an act people look for a text to fix its meaning so here's an attempt," the document read. "The atrocities committed by Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification."
FBI Director Kash Patel called the bloodshed an "act of terror," although US Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters that authorities believe the suspect acted alone.
Israel has faced sustained international condemnation for its escalating Gaza military offensive, while Jewish advocacy groups have warned of a rise in antisemitic incidents globally.
Investigators also delved into apparent political affiliations of the suspect, who worked for a healthcare nonprofit and was believed to have had past ties to far-left groups.
According to an account by Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith, a man shot at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting both the victims. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting, little more than 2km from the White House.
Video footage from the scene showed Rodriguez firing several times at the victims, then firing several more rounds at them after they fell to the ground and after Milgrim tried to crawl away and sat up, according to an FBI affidavit in the criminal complaint,
"Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon," Smith said. Investigators recovered a 9mm handgun, 21 spent shell casings and a firearm magazine at the scene, according to the complaint.
SUSPECT'S BACKGROUND
Rodriguez was once affiliated with a far-left group in Chicago, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to a post from the group on X. The group said that Rodriguez had a brief association with a PSL branch that ended in 2017 and that they knew of no contact with him in more than seven years.
"We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it," the organisation said.
Rodriguez was also identified in a 2018 local news report as a member of the Chicago branch of a national group called ANSWER, an acronym for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, which has organised demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinians. ANSWER did not immediately respond to email and phone messages.
Rodriguez worked at the healthcare nonprofit American Osteopathic Information Association, the organisation confirmed in a statement expressing sympathy for the victims.
"We were shocked and saddened to learn that an AOIA employee has been arrested as a suspect in this horrific crime," the statement said.
He had also worked as an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving African American stories, according to a now-deleted biography on the group's website, and was a content writer for technology firms.
Rodriguez was born and reared in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2018 with an English degree.
Trump condemned the shooting.
"These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!" he said in a message on Truth Social. "Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his heart ached for the families of the victims, "whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer".
We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel," he said on X, adding that both "must be fought to the utmost."
The shooting is likely to fuel polarisation in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Conservative supporters of Israel led by Trump have branded pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters without charge and cut off funding to elite US universities that have permitted demonstrations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Hearing your fiancé's voice for the first time, while in prison
Scroll up for the next video X Hearing your fiancé's voice for the first time, while in prison
Independent Singapore
5 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Trump softens stance on Vietnam, announces new trade deal days before tariff hike
WASHINGTON/HANOI: In an astonishing declaration a few days before an extensive fresh round of tariffs was scheduled to come into force, President Donald Trump divulged a trade arrangement with Vietnam that enforces a pointedly lower tariff than what was announced earlier. Trump eases off on Vietnam, announces new trade framework According to the latest Reuters report, instead of the 46% levy imposed in April, Vietnamese exports to the U.S. will now be facing a 20% tariff. In the meantime, goods diverted through Vietnam from third countries, specifically China, will be slapped with a 40% transshipment charge. 'It is my great honour to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,' Trump wrote on Truth Social after a call with Vietnamese President To Lam. In response, Vietnam consented to give U.S. exporters privileged access to its market, possibly including zero tariffs on some products and enhanced access for 'made-in-America' big-engine automobiles. While Trump viewed the arrangement as a major win, specifics such as which products will be impacted or how transshipment guidelines will be imposed remain unclear. Nonetheless, the statement aided in the 'cooling' of economic strains with Vietnam. See also Wealth of US billionaires soars during pandemic U.S.-Vietnam economic ties deepen amid global trade shifts Vietnam's quick rise as a U.S. trading ally originated from previous Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, which prompted countless producers to move production to Southeast Asia. Since 2018, Vietnam's exports to the U.S. have increased more than two and a half times, from under $50 billion to $137 billion in 2024. On the other hand, U.S. exports to Vietnam have grown more modestly, by just 30%, over the same period. The Vietnamese régime hailed the contract as a move toward more robust ties. Hanoi repeated its plea to the U.S. to formally identify Vietnam as a market economy and to loosen restrictions on high-tech exports, old priorities for Vietnam's administration. Global trade realignments as July 9 tariff cliff approaches Trump's move to reduce the tariff for Vietnam comes just ahead of a July 9 target, when he is projected to increase duties on most imports. More than a dozen countries are now scurrying to negotiate analogous agreements with the U.S. to evade high tariffs. See also The Global Economy's Fundamental Weakness The Vietnam arrangement reflects a current transaction made with the UK, which acknowledged a 10% tariff on many products in return for privileged access to sell aircraft, locomotives and beef in the U.S. Discussions with India and Japan are in progress, but have yet to produce significant results. Forecasters say Trump's Vietnam agreement, like others, is just like a prescribed trade agreement but hasn't settled key implementation questions. Nevertheless, it will help keep strategic bonds with Hanoi as the U.S. seeks to stabilise economic interests and regional security alliances in the face of growing Chinese influence. 'Had Trump stuck with 46%, Vietnam feared being outcompeted by other Southeast Asian nations,' said Murray Hiebert of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 'That could have damaged both trade ties and military cooperation with the U.S.'
CNA
9 hours ago
- CNA
Seven people missing after fireworks warehouse explosion in California
LOS ANGELES: Seven people remained missing on Wednesday (Jul 2) in California, a day after a fireworks warehouse explosion injured two victims and sparked a giant fire, authorities said. The explosion occurred on Tuesday evening after a fire broke out in a warehouse located in the town of Esparto, in the northern part of the state. "Seven individuals remain unaccounted for," California's state firefighting agency said in a statement. "First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals." The two injured people have been located and are now out of danger, according to authorities. However, firefighters have still not been able to access the warehouse because the fireworks held inside can still explode. Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence called the situation "very complex and risky". "There were, you know, reports of a large debris field of large pieces of shrapnel spread out across a large area," he told a press conference. "So we maintained a wide perimeter of a wide berth around this area today into the day, and we kept our responders in a safe location." The authorities' cautious response angered some relatives of the victims. A woman interrupted the press conference and complained she had no information about her boyfriend and two brothers-in-law who were among the missing. She accused the firefighters of not "focusing on the people who are stuck in the warehouse, possibly dead". "People have possibly lost their lives because of you guys not doing your job well enough," the woman, who did not identify herself, said. Following the accident, several nearby towns announced they would have to cancel their fireworks displays scheduled for Friday, Jul 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day.
