Late last night, Twitchy reported on a fatal shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. As the situation unfolded at a Young Diplomats event at the museum, not much was known about the victims other than that they were Israeli Embassy staffers, and the man who shot them was reportedly wearing a keffiyeh and shouting 'Free Palestine!'
Sadly, we can now report some additional details about the victims, as well as information about the suspect, who has been taken into custody.
BREAKING: DC police ID the suspected killer of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Jewish Museum tonight as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago. They say after he was in custody, he yelled “Free Palestine”, and told police where he discarded the gun. The victims were…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 22, 2025
We almost don't want to show all of Melugin's post because it is too heartwrenching.
But here is the rest of the information he provided:
The victims were reportedly a couple, and the man had bought a ring in preparation to propose to her.
Just unthinkable.
The detail about the staffers being a couple on the verge of getting engaged was released by the Israeli Embassy. We don't know too much else about the victims yet, though, as their names have not been released at the time of this writing.
We do, however, know a lot more about the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, and none of it is good.
Here is Elias Rodriguez's bio on the History Makers websitehttps://t.co/bmp4sCFJo1 https://t.co/nPp4Ou0yFM pic.twitter.com/BB6Eqz27m9
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) May 22, 2025
So far, there's not a lot to see there, but it gets worse. It gets a LOT worse.
The suspect in the anti-Israel terrorist DC shooting, Elias Rodriguez, appears to be from the “party for socialism and liberation” in Chicago.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) May 22, 2025
A far-left activist. https://t.co/QUHX4tUJJW pic.twitter.com/NbOeFeF5ld
That's weird. We thought that CNN told us that violent extremism only exists on the right in America. We wonder if Taylor Lorenz and Donie O'Sullivan will have any follow-up on that claim.
Lorenz will probably develop a crush on Rodriguez and call him 'a good man.'
Elias Rodriguez, the alleged murderer of two Israeli diplomats, made one political donation: to @JoeBiden in 2020https://t.co/8TyCLqYK1L https://t.co/qSVL8PrZ0y pic.twitter.com/NA8YJSgJSO
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) May 22, 2025
Of course, he did.
The most damning information we learned about Rodriguez, however, came in the form of a video as he was arrested.
At the time of the shooting, as we noted above, there were reports that the shooter was shouting 'Free Palestine.' We don't have confirmation about that, but here he is seemingly shouting those exact words at the time he was taken into police custody.
🚨 Video of suspect Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, yelling "Free Palestine" after he murdered two Jews in Washington D.C. tonight.pic.twitter.com/WLv9aIJkmE
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 22, 2025
The look of horror on the woman's face at the end of that clip, watching Rodriguez shouting those words as he was hauled away, will stick with us for a long time.
'Free, free Palestine.'
We seem to recall hearing that same chant at college campuses from antisemitic mobs. And we know that members of the Hamas Caucus, such as AOC and Rashida Tlaib, have encouraged such chants as well as 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.'
This is the terrorist Elias Rodriguez, who shot and killed a Jewish couple outside the Jewish museum in DC.
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) May 22, 2025
‘Free Palestine’ can now OFFICIALLY be considered a terrorist chant.
pic.twitter.com/nVPqqa87su
It always was that.
"Globalize the Intifada" means kill Jews.
— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D. (@neoavatara) May 22, 2025
"From the River to the Sea" means the genocide of Jews in Israel.
"We don’t want two states! We want ‘48!" is the end of Israel.
WORDS MEAN THINGS.
And the left encouraging this violence means something, too.
This is what they mean by 'globalize the intifada.' https://t.co/VbryXu7TdP
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) May 22, 2025
Exactly.
Early this morning, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino issued a statement on X about the shooting and the ongoing FBI investigation.
The subject is currently being interviewed by DC Metro in conjunction with our FBI JTTF team.
— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 22, 2025
The US Attorney’s office is on scene with me, and our WFO management team, at the Washington Field Office reviewing the evidence to determine additional actions.
The shooting…
The shooting happened a short distance from our Washington Field Office. Our FBI police officers, assigned to posts on the WFO property, immediately responded and rendered aid after the attack.
Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence. Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads.
Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, also made a statement at the Metro DC Police Headquarters, where he thanked the U.S. Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and President Trump for reaching out to him to promise the support of the United States in seeking justice for this matter.
His statement also included, once again, heartbreaking details about the two young victims.
“They were a beautiful couple out for an evening in Washington’s cultural center”
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) May 22, 2025
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter: the victims were about to be engaged — the young man had bought a ring just this week and planned to propose in Jerusalem next week 💔 pic.twitter.com/Ud2GhO0Irc
'We are going to overcome the moral depravity of people who think that they are going to achieve political gain through murder.'
Twitchy will provide more details about this shooting, the investigation, the victims, and the suspect as they become available.
Am Yisrael Chai.
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