US: Suspect, Who Shot Two Israeli Embassy Workers, Shouted 'Free Palestine' In Custody

After an assailant shot dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC, on Wednesday night (May 21), he shouted "Free Palestine" in custody.

The 30-year-old shooter, identified as Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, opened fire at a group of four with a handgun outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. During the incident, a man and a woman lost their lives.

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith confirmed that before the shooting, Rodriguez was discovered pacing outside the museum. After being taken into custody, he shouted “Free Palestine, Free Palestine,” she said. “After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Smith said.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense," she added, the Indian Express reported.

The Couple Was About To Engage: Israel’s ambassador 

She stated that the suspect had no prior interactions with law enforcement. According to Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, the two Israeli embassy staffers killed on Wednesday (May 21) were a “young couple about to be engaged.”

Leiter mentioned that one of the victims had purchased an engagement ring earlier in the week, planning to propose to his girlfriend.

“The couple that was gunned down tonight in the name of ‘Free Palestine’ was a young couple about to be engaged. A young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple,” Leiter said.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were shot “at close range” while leaving an event at the museum and died from their injuries, despite all efforts to save them.

“Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives. This evening, a terrorist shot and killed them as they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC," the Israeli Embassy in the US said in a post.

“The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder. No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss. Our hearts are with their families, and the embassy will be by their side during this terrible time,” it added.

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