What we know about the launch of the Israeli embassy team in Washington, DC

A young couple was shot at the Israeli embassy outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC.

Police says the victims, Yaron Lesinsky and Sarah Lin Melgerim, were killed by a man who shouted “free Palestine” during his arrest. Elias Rodriguez was accused of first -class killing.

Here is what you need to know about the shooting.

At 21:08 local time on Wednesday, the police received calls about the shooting outside the Jewish Museum in the center of Washington, DC.

An unconscious man and woman were found and did not breathe at the scene, and he died later.

The Metropolitan Police Administration (MPD) said that the couple was taking an event in the museum located in an area with tourist sites, museums and government buildings.

The police claim that the shooting was committed by Elias Rodriguez, 31, from Chicago.

MPD said he had been seen walking up and down outside the museum before using a pistol to open a set of four people.

Then the suspect went inside the museum, where he was arrested. The police said he had repeatedly cried “Palestine free” during his arrest.

Some in the museum initially believed it It was a troubled passerby When it exploded.

One of the witnesses, Uni Calin, said that people inside were “calm down, give him water, and take care of it.”

“We did not know that someone executed people in cold blood,” he said.

MPD and Federal Investigation Office in the attack as a act of terrorism and hate crime.

Yaron Lesinski, 30, and Sarah Lin Milgerim, 26, worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC.

On Thursday, Mr. Leishyle Letter said that Mr. Lesinski intends to suggest to Miss Milgradim in Jerusalem next week.

Yaron Lesinski, a joint German Israeli citizen, worked as a researcher at the embassy, ​​according to his personal file on LinkedIn.

His friend Ronin Shufal said that he was born in Germany, and moved to Israel in adolescence before moving to Washington.

“He was” a religious Christian “with a” good personality “.

Ron Broors said he had previously served in the Israeli army.

Sarah Lin Milgerim, an American from Kansas, worked in the Department of General Diplomacy of the Israeli Embassy, ​​according to the LinkedIn page.

Her father, Robert, told the American BBC CBS News that his daughter “loved Israel” and “I love everyone who lived in the Middle East.”

“She had many close Palestinian friends, as well as many Israeli friends,” he said.

Collill, a Jewish student organization at Kansas University, said that Miss Milgerim was “Shabb Mahboub” with a “bright spirit”.

The Israeli embassy said that its employees were “sad and destroyed” with deaths.

Elias Rodriguez was accused of two first -class accusations of shooting.

He was also accused of killing foreign officials, causing death with a firearm, and emptying a firearm in a violent crime.

According to a written statement, the suspect flew from Chicago on Tuesday and announced that he was legally purchased in Illinois in his examined luggage.

The authorities say the investigation is continuing, and more charges can be brought against it with its development.

The lawyer of the temporary capital, Janine Peru, said that it is too early to determine whether the prosecutors would seek the death penalty, but this was “a case qualified to the death penalty.”

Peru added that the suspect is being held in detention and will appear before the court to attend a preliminary hearing on June 18.

US Public Prosecutor Bam Bondi said he believed he had acted alone.

Earlier on Thursday, the FBI searched the Chicago property linked to the suspect.

Outside the apartment, John Wayne Wayne Fry told the correspondents that he lived in the same residential building as the suspect for about a year.

He said that the suspect showed a picture outside his apartment for a Palestinian American child who was stabbed to death outside Chicago in 2023.

The killing caused international headlines. The man who killed the six -year -old Valley was convicted of hate crime earlier this month. Officials say he was hate for Islam and the conflict in Gaza.

It is not clear whether the suspect has any direct contact with the boy’s family.

Fry said that he had not spoken to the suspect about politics, but he said, “If you had talked about it.”

The suspect has been working in the American Orthopedic Association since 2024, according to the online records that BBC examined.

Accounts of social media that belongs to it indicates that he has participated strongly in the pro -Palestinians protest movement.

A story on the Internet indicated that it was linked to a marginal communist group, the Socialist and Liberation Party, in 2017, and an interview was conducted with him as a group member.

In a post on X, the party said that they “have nothing to do with this fire and do not support it” and they had no contact with the suspect for seven years.

The police said they had no previous interactions with the suspect and did not see anything in his background, “he would have put it on our radar.”

The event was described in the Jewish Capital Museum as an opportunity to communicate to bring together young Jewish and diplomatic professionals.

The organizer, the American Jewish Committee, said it is open to those in the capital diplomatic community. The subject of the event was announced as “the transformation of pain into a purpose.”

The event’s description said that he called on humanitarian aid organizers who respond to crises in the Middle East, including Gaza.

The site was only shared with those who subscribed to the audience.

President Donald Trump condemned the attack and described it as anti -Semitic.

He said that publishing on his stalt social media platform: “These terrible killings, which are clearly dependent on anti -Semitism, now must end!

“Hate and radicalism has no place in the United States of America. Condolences to the families of the victims.

“Very sad that such things can happen! God bless you all!”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “angry at the anti -Semitic killing” of the victims.

His office said that he spoke with the victims’ parents.

“My heart is sad for the families of young young men, whose lives were cut off in a moment by a anti -Semitic killer,” he said, adding that he directed the Israeli embassies around the world to increase security.

He and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said that the deaths were caused by the “anti -Israeli incitement” who said it was being done by European leaders.

Earlier this week, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada signed a strong joint speech The condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

In a video address, Netanyahu linked the killings on Wednesday in Washington to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 on Israel.

“When it was transferred, chanted,” Palestine is free! “This is exactly the same chant that we heard on October 7.”

Kiir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney accused “encouraging Hamas to continue fighting forever” by calling Israel to end its war in Gaza.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack across the border on October 7, 2023, where about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken into account.

At least 53,475 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,340 people since the Israeli attack resumed, according to the Ministry of Health in the region.

Additional reports by Shayan Sardarrazadeh, BBC investigate