Man, 30, charged with first-degree murder in killing of Israeli embassy couple in DC

A 30-year-old Chicago man has been charged with the murder of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC.

Suspect Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials after the shooting of Israeli embassy staff member Yaron Lischinsky and his girlfriend Sarah Pilgrim. 

Rodriquez is said to have shouted "free Palestine" before and after allegedly shooting the couple.

According to the charging document, he reportedly told police: "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed."

He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. 

????BREAKING: Footage shows the D.C. shooting suspect being taken into custody. He has been identified as Elias Rodriguez, a resident of Chicago. After his arrest, he shouted, “Free, free Palestine!” pic.twitter.com/Y4gjdXGHQ9

— I Meme Therefore I Am ???????? (@ImMeme0) May 22, 2025

The couple, who were set to get engaged next week, had attended a Young Diplomats event before they were gunned down.

Speaking on Thursday night, Steve Jenson, from the FBI in Washington, said the killings were "both an act of terror and directed violence against the Jewish community."

He added the FBI is aware of "writings" by the suspect and is investigating the contents of them.

Elias Rodriguez is believed to have travelled to DC for a work conference, the FBI added.

Prosecutors’ charging documents allege he shot Pilgrim as she tried to crawl away.

Rodriguez "followed behind her and fired again", the court documents claim.

Witnesses described seeing Rodriguez ’pacing back and forth’ outside the museum before the attack.

He approached a group of people that included Lischinsky and Milgrim and then shot them at ’close range’, the Israeli Embassy said.

Tributes have been paid online to the young couple ’in the prime of their lives’ who worked as staff at the Israeli embassy.

"Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives," an online tribute states.

"This evening, a terrorist shot and killed them as they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC.

"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."

US President Donald Trump has condemned the attack.

He said: “These horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, now!

“Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned the shooting as "anti-Semitic."

He posted online: "Horrified by the killing of two Israeli Embassy staff in DC.

"We condemn this appalling, antisemitic crime.

"Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and colleagues at this awful time."

In the wake of the shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer of being "on the wrong side of history" after he condemned Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed at least 53,000 people - the vast majority women and children.

The Israeli Prime Minister attacked Sir Keir’s recent comments after he released a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney.

Mr Netanyahu said: "I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, and others. They’re now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murderers with the ultimate prize.

"Well, for 18 years, we had a de facto Palestinian state. It’s called Gaza. And what did we get? Peace? No, we got the most savage slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

"You won’t be surprised to learn that Hamas thanked President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer and Carney for demanding that Israel end its war in Gaza immediately.

"Hamas was right to thank them, because by issuing their demand, replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel, against Israel, not Hamas, these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power.

"They want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild, and repeat the October 7th massacre again and again and again. Because that’s what Hamas has vowed to do."

Mr Netanyahu went on to address the world leaders directly.

He said: "I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney, and Prime Minister Starmer, when mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice, you’re on the wrong side of humanity, and you’re on the wrong side of history."