2 Israeli Embassy employees are killed in a capturing in downtown Washington, D.C. : NPR

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WJLA/AP WASHINGTON — Two employees members from the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., had been shot and killed exterior an occasion at a Jewish museum within the capital, police mentioned Wednesday.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Jap time on Wednesday, as an occasion by the pro-Israel advocacy group American Jewish Committee wrapped up at an area Jewish museum in downtown D.C., a person was noticed "pacing backwards and forwards" exterior of the constructing, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith informed reporters.

The person approached a bunch of 4 individuals then opened hearth, Smith mentioned. Two individuals had been killed — a person and lady who had been a pair, officers mentioned. Afterward, the shooter entered the museum and was detained by occasion safety, Smith mentioned.

"The suspect chanted 'Free, free Palestine' whereas in custody," Smith added. Police mentioned they'd tentatively recognized the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago. He didn't have any prior recognized encounters with police, Smith mentioned.

The victims had been "a pair about to be engaged," mentioned Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter. "The younger man bought a hoop this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend subsequent week in Jerusalem. They had been a gorgeous couple who got here to get pleasure from a night in Washington's cultural heart."

The ambassador mentioned he had obtained a telephone name from President Trump. The president, Leiter mentioned, informed him the White Home would do "every part they will probably do to battle and finish anti-semitism."

The capturing came about exterior of the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington, lower than a mile from the U.S. Capitol. The American Jewish Committee, a pro-Israel Jewish advocacy group, had held an occasion on the museum on Wednesday night time, the group mentioned in an announcement.

"We're devastated that an unspeakable act of violence came about exterior the venue," the group's CEO, Ted Deutch, mentioned in an announcement to NPR. "Our consideration and our hearts are solely with those that had been harmed and their households."

"We're actively investigating and dealing to get extra info to share," Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned on the social media platform X. "Please pray for the households of the victims. We are going to convey this wicked perpetrator to justice.

Steve Jensen, an official within the FBI's Washington discipline workplace referred to as the capturing "a heinous crime." The FBI is investigating "ties to potential terrorism or motivation based mostly on a bias-based crime or a hate crime," he mentioned.