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Summary

  • Shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after two Israeli embassy staff were killed in Washington DC on Wednesday night

  • Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when they were shot dead

  • Rodriguez, a 30-year-old from Chicago, was detained at the scene. More charges could come later, law enforcement officials say, and the FBI is aware of "writings" purported to be from the suspect

  • Police say the suspect was in town for a work conference, and shouted "free Palestine" after being taken into custody

  • US President Trump says the attack is "so sad" and "based obviously on antisemitism", while DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says "this crime will not be tolerated in our city"

  • Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has linked the shooting to the 7 October 2023 attack and says security will be increased at Israeli embassies worldwide

Media caption,

Watch as interim US attorney for Washington DC lays out charges against DC shooting suspect

  1. What we know about the suspectpublished at 05:40 British Summer Time

    Police have named Elias Rodriguez as the sole suspect at a news conference.

    The 30-year-old Chicago man was seen "pacing back and forth outside of the museum" where the shooting took place, they said.

    He approached a group of four people and produced a handgun, at which point he shot both victims.

    Rodriguez is now being held in custody and DC Mayor Bowser has said there is "no active threat in our community".

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  2. Event was focused on how to help Gazans, says organiserpublished at 05:37 British Summer Time

    Nomia Iqbal
    North America correspondent

    Jojo Kalin is the board member of the American Jewish Committee who organised the event tonight. She didn’t witness the shooting or even hear the shots, and is shaken by what happened.

    “I didn't know the couple who were shot but I do feel a sense of guilt, and it's a very uniquely Jewish thing to feel guilty for the fact that they were there because of an event I organised and then feeling guilty about my guilt when I shouldn't be centering myself when people's lives were just lost.”

    The event was largely focused on how to build a coalition to help Gazans.

    “I'm not going to lose my humanity over this or be deterred. And that Israelis and Palestinians both still deserve self determination and [it is] just deeply ironic that that's what we were discussing.

    "It was bridge building and then we were all hit over the hide with such hatred.“

    A woman in a suit and glasses looks into the camera. She wears two necklaces.
    Image caption,

    Jojo Kalin says she didn't hear the shots and is shaken by what happened.

  3. 'Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA' - Trumppublished at 05:28 British Summer Time

    US President Donald Trump has condemned the killings and suggested they were driven by antisemitism.

    "These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA," he wrote on Truth Social, a platform he founded.

    "Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!" Trump wrote.

  4. Watch: Police on the scene in DCpublished at 05:20 British Summer Time

    Media caption,

    Watch: Police on the scene in DC after two Israeli embassy staff shot dead

  5. FBI working with police to respond to situationpublished at 05:17 British Summer Time

    This in the last few minutes from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel.

    He says the FBI is working with the police to respond to the situation, adding authorities will keep the public updated "as we are able".

    "In the immediate, please pray for the victims and their families," he says.

  6. Israeli embassy says victims were shot at 'close range'published at 05:12 British Summer Time

    Israeli embassy spokeswoman, Tal Naim Cohen, has shared a statement on X.

    "Two staff of the Israeli embassy were shot this evening at close range while attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC," she says.

    "We have full faith in law enforcement authorities on both the local and federal levels to apprehend the shooter and protect Israel’s representatives and Jewish communities throughout the United States."

  7. What we know so farpublished at 05:10 British Summer Time

    The details are still unfolding. We know so far that two Israeli embassy staff - a man and a woman - have been shot dead outside a Jewish museum in downtown Washington DC.

    Police have named the suspect as Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois. He has been detained.

    The duo were shot at around 21:05 local time while they were exiting an event at the Capital Jewish Museum.

    The victims have not been publicly identified.

    US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem has vowed to "bring this depraved perpetrator to justice" while Israel's ambassador to the UN called the incident a "depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism".

    We'll bring you more details as we get them.

  8. Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead near Jewish museum in Washington DCpublished at 05:07 British Summer Time

    Two Israeli embassy staff have been shot dead near a Jewish museum in Washington DC, according to US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    The victims, a man and woman, were shot while exiting an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, sources told the BBC's news partner CBS, adding that the incident appears targeted.

    This is a breaking story and details are still emerging - follow our live coverage here on the BBC News website.