Man Charged With Murder in Shooting Deaths of 2 Israel Embassy Employees

Elias Rodriguez faces multiple federal charges in the case, according to court documents.

Law enforcement officials from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force and Chicago Police participate in a search of the apartment where shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez lived, in Chicago on May 22, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The man accused in the shooting deaths of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday was charged with murder of foreign officials, according to court filings submitted Thursday.

Elias Rodriguez, 30, is accused in the shooting murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who worked for the Israeli Embassy, after an event on Wednesday. Officials had said that he shouted “free, free Palestine” after the incident.

Other than the murder of foreign officials charge, Rodriguez was also charged with two counts of first-degree murder, discharge of a gun in a crime of violence, and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, the court papers say.

The charges were filed in federal court as FBI officials said earlier Thursday that the incident is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.

Interim U.S. Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro said at a news briefing on Thursday that the complaint against Rodriguez constitutes a “death penalty-eligible case.”

“We are going to continue to investigate this as a hate crime and as a crime of terrorism,” Pirro told reporters.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier that the suspect was believed to have acted alone.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote on social media that bureau investigators were “aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect” and said that more updates will likely follow on whether they are authentic. Bongino’s statement appeared to refer to a manifesto signed with Rodriguez’s name that was posted to an anonymous X account on Wednesday night shortly before the shooting.

“Above all, please pray for the families of the victims,” he wrote. “This is something no parent, family member, or friend should have to go through. The FBI sends our condolences and will offer our full support as the investigation continues.”

Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters on Wednesday that a man shot at a group of four people with a handgun, hitting the two victims. He was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense,” Smith said, adding that he had had no previous contact with police.

A number of U.S. elected officials condemned the shooting, including high-level Republicans and Democrats.

In a social media post, President Donald Trump wrote that “these horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW” and that “hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also described the shooting as an act of “antisemitism which as we know is all too rampant in our society.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he offers his condolences to the victims’ families and added that the pair’s “lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer.”

“We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that both “must be fought to the utmost.”

Israel has been at war with the Hamas terrorist group since Oct. 7, 2023, following its attack on southern Israel that left around 1,200 Israelis dead and hundreds more kidnapped and taken hostage. In response, Israel launched an all-out military operation against the group. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza has claimed that around 50,000 people have died since the conflict started, although the casualty figures provided do not make a distinction between combatants and civilians.

It’s not clear whether Rodriguez has legal representation.

Reuters contributed to this report.