Two Israeli embassy staff were shot and killed outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. around 9:10 p.m. on Wednesday night by a man shouting “Free Palestine,” police said.

The attack came outside the Young Diplomats Reception 2025 hosted for young Jewish professionals by the American Jewish Committee, and two staffers were shot at close range, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy.

D.C. police chief Pamela Smith said that both victims died on the scene after being shot by 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, who is now in custody.

“The suspect chanted free, free Palestine while in custody,” Smith said. “The suspect is 30-year-year Elias Rodriguez of Chicago.”

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith provided an update on the Israeli couple who were murdered tonight in D.C.

She stated that the shooter is 30-year-old Elias Rodrigues of Chicago, who is now in custody. pic.twitter.com/pKXA9R9HBm

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 22, 2025

The FBI said there is “no ongoing threat to public safety” in a statement.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” President Donald Trump posted on Thursday night. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!”

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed she was on the scene of the “horrible shooting,” where she was joined by DC U.S. Attorney Jeannine Pirro after the incident.

Speaking at the news conference, Bondi said the suspect Rodriguez will be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“We’ll be doing everything in our power to keep all citizens safe—especially tonight, our Jewish community,” Bondi said. “Our prayers go out.”

According to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, the two Israeli embassy staff killed tonight were a young couple who were about to get engaged.

“The couple that was gunned down in tonight in the name of free Palestine is a couple that was about to be engaged,”  he said. “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington’s cultural center.”

Israeli Amb. Yechiel Leiter says the Israelis murdered were a young couple.

"The couple that was gunned down in tonight in the name of free Palestine is a couple that was about to be engaged. The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing." pic.twitter.com/AolvLgWG1p

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 22, 2025

President Donald Trump called Leiter after the incident and promised justice, Leiter said.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed the shooting in a statement.

“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share,” she tweeted. “Please pray for the families of the victims. We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, called the murder a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism,”

“Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” Danon said. “We are confident that the U.S. authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world.”

The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism. Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line. We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against… pic.twitter.com/mVyXHjGyxU

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) May 22, 2025

“American Jewish Committee (AJC) can confirm that we hosted an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. this evening,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement. “We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue. At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”

The attacker reportedly entered the event after the shooting and asked for water and a safe space before putting on a keffiyeh and shouting free Palestine, a witness said, according to Jewish Insider editor in chief Josh Kraushaar. 

House Republicans released a so-called manager’s amendment on Wednesday night with tweaks to President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” that emerged from negotiations to rally the GOP rank-and-file around the legislation.

In a post on X, Wall Street Journal reporter Olivia Beavers highlighted what the measure looks like with the last-minute changes:

— SALT deal stays
— Medicaid work requirements moved up to Dec. 2026

— Incentives for non-expansion states
— Faster phase out of energy tax credits for wind, solar, and battery storage in 2028 w/ some exceptions
— Changes to federal pension
— Ditching the federal requirement that firearm suppressors must be registered

Posts on social media from journalists also pointed out that several pages in the manager’s amendment dealt with renaming “MAGA accounts,” which are featured in a proposal to create tax-preferred savings accounts for children with $1,000 in seed money, to “Trump accounts.”

One significant point of contention over the past week had been the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. GOP lawmakers from high-tax blue states protested the $30,000 ceiling originally proposed in the legislation. A deal was reportedly struck to lift the ceiling to $40,000. However, the SALT bargain threatened to alienate other Republican lawmakers.

“Raising the SALT deduction is a bailout for Democrat Governors — paid for by red states with low taxes. Tennesseans should not foot the bill for New York and California’s mismanagement,” said Rep. John Rose (R-TN), who is running for governor of Tennessee.

Now the House Rules Committee is expected to take up the manager’s amendment with the bill. If they advance to the full House, GOP leadership could pave the way for a final vote as early as Thursday.

The bill, which is progressing through Congress via the reconciliation process, aims to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain the 2017 tax cuts, and raise the debt limit, “No Tax on Tips,” and more.

With a slim House majority and near-certain Democrat opposition, Republicans can likely afford only a few defectors to send the bill to the Senate. Trump met with House GOP lawmakers, including conservative holdouts, at the White House on Wednesday following the president’s trip to Capitol Hill to urge Republicans to pass the bill on Tuesday.