WASHINGTON — Two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed on Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum after an assailant approached a group of four people and opened fire, authorities said.

According to Police Chief Pamela Smith, law enforcement apprehended the suspect on site. The gunman yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested, Smith said.

"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," she explained at a press conference in Washington.

The man has been identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago. Witnesses told the press he entered the museum visibly distressed after the shooting. Some of those present helped him without realizing he was the suspected assailant.

He was initially detained by museum security, according to reports.

The two victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the museum together with others when the gunman opened fire on their group. One of the victims died on the scene while the other was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, but could not be saved.

The identities of the victims were not immediately known. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged. The man "purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem," Leiter said.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that the woman killed was a US employee of the embassy and the man was Israeli.

The victims were later identified as embassy analyst Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, an employee in the embassy's public diplomacy department.

"I'm an ardent believer in the vision that was outlined in the Abraham Accords and believe that expanding the circle of peace with our Arab neighbors and pursuing regional cooperation is in the best interest of the State of Israel and the Middle East as a whole," Lischinsky wrote in his biography on LinkedIn.

In his bio, Lischinsky, 28, also said he was an "advocate for interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding".

"My passion lies at the intersection of peacebuilding, religious engagement, and environmental work," Milgrim's bio on the same platform said.

"I am eager to contribute to organisations dedicated to bridging divides, promoting religious harmony, and advancing sustainable practices," Milgrim said about her work.

"Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives," the Embassy of Israel to Washington said in a tribute on X on Thursday.

"The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder. No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss," the embassy added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that he was “shocked” by the “horrific, antisemitic” shooting.

“We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel,” he said in a statement.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting a “depraved act of antisemitic terrorism.”

“We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act,” Danon said in a post on X. “Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives — everywhere in the world.”

“This event was about humanitarian aid,” witness Yoni Kalin, who was at the Wednesday night event, said.

“How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood.” — Euronews