Witnesses told the BBC that security mistook the man who is suspected of shooting and murdering two Israeli embassy employees during a Wednesday night event in Washington, DC, for a witness.
Jojo Kalin, who coordinated the Capital Jewish Museum’s American Jewish Committee event, reported seeing the assailant inside the structure and described him as “very distraught” following the shooting.
She said, “I didn’t see a weapon on him, so the security allowed this person in thinking they were a witness or bystander.” She said that after giving him water, the suspect shouted “free Palestine” and produced a keffiyeh. Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, has been identified by police as the culprit and is now being held.
Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, both employees of Israel’s embassy in Washington, DC, are said to have been shot dead by Mr. Rodriguez.
Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said the two were a couple. According to the embassy, the young guy intended to pop the question in Jerusalem the following week after purchasing a ring this week. The pair was leaving the event on Wednesday night when a shooter opened fire on them at around 21:05 local time (02:05 BST).
Pamela Smith, the chief of police in Washington, DC, claimed that Mr. Rodriguez was observed pacing back and forth outside the museum before he approached a group of four people and used a pistol to shoot two of them.
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