Two Israeli diplomats were shot in the back by a pro-Palestinian gunman who fired at least 21 times, according to the FBI.
Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American, were a young couple about to be engaged when their lives were callously taken.
They were killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, the suspected gunman, appeared in a white prison jumpsuit at a federal court in Washington DC on Thursday.
Horrific new details of the shooting later emerged in an FBI affidavit which gave descriptions of surveillance footage collected from the scene.
It showed Rodriguez walking towards the museum as the couple prepared to enter a crosswalk.
‘Once Rodriguez walked past the decedents and two witnesses he turned to face their backs and brandished a firearm from the area of his waistband,’ the affidavit said.
‘Rodriguez is captured on the video extending both his arms in the direction of the decedents and firing several times, as indicated by the muzzle flashes.
Rodriguez is suspected of murdering a young Israeli couple at the Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night. He is pictured being arrested shortly after the killings
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim who were shot and killed as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, pose for a picture at an unknown location, in this handout image released by Embassy of Israel to the U.S. on May 22, 2025
An onlooker watches draped in an Israeli flag as police investigate the scene in the immediate aftermath of the shooting
‘Once the decedents fell to the ground Rodriguez is captured on the video advancing closer to the decedents, leaning over them with his arm extended, and firing several more times.’
The affidavit referred to Milgrim as ‘decedent 1’.
It went on: ‘As decedent 1 attempted to crawl away he (Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again. After a brief moment Rodriguez appeared to reload his firearm. At the same time decedent 1 sat up. Once he reloaded Rodriguez fired several times at decedent 1.’
Rodriguez was then captured on video ‘jogging’ back toward the museum entrance.
One witness reported seeing him throw his gun away after it stopped firing. Another witness earlier recalled how well-meaning security guards allowed him inside the building, wrongly assuming he was a victim of the shooting.
At the museum, according to the affidavit, he told police: ‘I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed.’
According to the affidavit Rodriguez, who is from Chicago, had flown from his home city to Washington on May 20.
He declared and flew with a gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez appeared in court where he was charged with two counts of murder
Investigators remained on the scene on Thursday, cleaning blood off the sidewalk
Elias Rodriguez told police: ‘I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza’
Rodriguez bought a ticket to the Young Diplomats event held at the museum just three hours before it kicked off. It had been advertised online as a ‘special event’ in Washington DC to ‘bring together young Jewish professionals’ aged between 22 and 45.
But the precise address of the event was not made publicly available amid mounting security concerns about the safety of patrons at the venue.
To get access to the location, interested parties had to buy tickets to attend.
When he appeared in court on Thursday Rodriguez was told he could face the death penalty if convicted.
Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom which was just a few blocks from where the horrific crime took place in the nation’s capital.
Rodriguez, who was not handcuffed, nodded repeatedly as the judge read him the charges.
There were no outbursts and he spoke in a calm and even voice when giving his name and age.
At one point towards the end of the 15-minute hearting he smiled briefly and appeared to shrug slightly as lawyers discussed the best timing for his next hearing.
At the museum, according to the affidavit, he told police: ‘I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza. I am unarmed.’
The suspected pro-Palestinian gunman who shot dead a young Jewish diplomatic couple in Washington DC has been unmasked as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez, pictured calmly sat outside the museum when he was arrested
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Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh told him he faces five charges.
The first was ‘murder of foreign officials’ and carries a possible death sentence.
The second charge was ‘causing the death of a person through the discharge of a firearm,’ which also carried a potential for execution.
The third was ‘discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence,’ for which he could get life if convicted.
Rodriguez will also face two charges of first-degree murder, which carry potential life sentences.
After his arrest, Rodriguez waived his Miranda rights and openly told officers he admired a 25-year-old Air Force engineer who self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy last year.
He described Aaron Bushnell as ‘courageous’ and labeled him a ‘martyr.’
He is a far-left activist who worked as an ‘oral history researcher’ on African American communities at educational non-profit TheHistoryMakers, participated in anti-capitalist demonstrations, and has been a member of the party for ‘socialism and liberation.’
Protestors held signs outside the Capital Jewish Museum as shock reverberated through the community after the senseless tragedy
Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Milgrim, an American, were a young couple about to be engaged
Police taped off the front of a building where Rodriguez was living at the time of the shooting
In the alleged shooter’s work profile, which has been deleted from his former employer’s website, it says his role was to ‘prepare detailed research outlines and biographies of accomplished leaders in the African American community.’
An alleged manifesto said to have been written by Rodriguez was published online before the killings, which claimed: ‘Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they’ll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they’re doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.’
The emergence of his manifesto came after footage from the shooting on Wednesday night appeared to show Rodriguez screaming ‘Free Palestine’ after the shocking attack.
After Rodriguez’s affiliation with the Part for Socialism movement became known, the group issued a statement condemning the attack and denying any involvement with the alleged shooter.
‘We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL,’ it wrote on X.
‘We know of no contact with him in over seven years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.’
But warped liberal pro-Palestine demonstrators have hailed Rodrigeuz a hero.
‘Thank you for your service,’ one person wrote on X underneath on of what is believed to be Rodriguez’s posts which urges his followers to ‘escalate for Gaza, bring the war home’.
‘What a hero,’ another person added, with a heart emoji.
