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.
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In a last-minute deal last week, South Korean negotiators persuaded Washington to reduce threatened tariffs on Korean goods from 25 per cent to 15 per cent before they went into effect. But many details about the deal remain unclear. Adding to the uncertainty, Mr Trump on Wednesday (Aug 6) announced plans to impose a tariff of about 100 per cent on imported semiconductors unless companies manufacture in the US. Seoul has said there will be limited impact from future US tariffs on chips as it had secured 'most-favoured-nation' status in the trade deal, but South Korean chipmakers remain on edge as Mr Trump has yet to provide key details. Mr Lee will likely be eager to seek clarity on this. The US is South Korea's largest export market, and South Korea's diversification options are poor. South Korea's second-largest export market is China, but those ties come with geopolitical costs. The US, even under Mr Trump, is a less politically and militarily risky trade partner. Mr Trump will probably ask for more investment commitments from South Korea, beyond the US$350 billion Seoul has already pledged to invest in the US. SECURITY COMMITMENTS The second issue is defence. Mr Lee will likely seek a reaffirmation of the US-South Korea security relationship, something that, in previous administrations, would have been routine. Under Mr Trump, however, longstanding US security commitments have come under renewed scrutiny. Earlier this year, Mr Trump made a series of controversial statements, including remarks about potentially taking over Greenland and Canada - both of which belong to NATO - as well as the Panama Canal. He also reportedly suggested launching air strikes against drug cartels in Mexico and pushed Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war. It is unclear if Mr Trump would fight for any US ally, including South Korea. Even if Mr Trump agrees to alliance-supporting language in the summit's final statement, concerns remain about the reliability of such commitments considering his unpredictable approach to foreign policy. To get a verbal alliance commitment from Mr Trump, Mr Lee will probably have to make concessions on one of Mr Trump's favourite grievances about US allies - how much they pay to support US troops stationed in-country. South Korea has 28,500 US soldiers. South Korea pays about half the bill for their support. Mr Trump previously demanded that South Korea, variously, double, triple, or quintuple that payment. He probably will again. South Korea is wealthy enough to pay more, and a US retrenchment from South Korea would likely spark massive capital flight. So Mr Lee is likely to accept a higher payment. THE NORTH KOREA FACTOR North Korea is the third issue. In April, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog warned that North Korea's nuclear arsenal had ballooned "exponentially' and was 'completely off the charts'. There are no inspectors on the ground. No active agreements are in place. And Pyongyang shows little interest in returning to talks. The North likely has as many as 100 warheads, plus missiles that can range the continental United States. North Korea has repeatedly threatened to use them against both South Korea and America. If the US meets its alliance commitment to South Korea in the event of a conflict with North Korea, US military bases - in South Korea, Japan, or Guam - will almost certainly become potential targets for North Korean missile strikes, possibly even involving nuclear weapons. In a worst-case scenario, the US mainland might also be at risk. So the risks of the US commitment to South Korea have gone up enormously. 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As it is, support for nuclear armament in South Korea is already gaining momentum. Public opinion polls frequently indicate over 70 per cent support for developing domestic nuclear capabilities. Mr Lee and Mr Trump must grapple with all these issues. While President Lee has a good sense of them and will go to Washington prepared, the results of the summit will likely depend less on what South Korea brings to the table, and more on what kind of partner the US is prepared to be.
