The man suspected of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., near the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21 was charged with murder and other federal crimes that could result in the death penalty, officials said.
The gunman yelled “Free Palestine!” as he was being arrested.
The staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were a couple soon to be engaged, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States. The two had been attending a young professionals event at the museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee, according to CNN.
At around 9 p.m., they were approached by a 31-year-old man who shot and killed them, officials reported. The gunman then pretended to be a bystander, remaining at the scene before turning himself in to police. He yelled, “Free, free Palestine,” as police officers handcuffed him inside the museum, according to CNN.
Eyewitnesses heard the gunman tell officers, “I did it for Gaza” and “I did it for Palestine,” according to CNN.
Ted Deutch, the CEO of the AJC, condemned this “unspeakable act of violence.”
“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,” Deutch said in a statement emailed to Washington Jewish Week.
“These horrible D.C. killings, obviously based on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The gunman is being interviewed by the DC Metropolitan Police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said on X.
“Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” Bongino wrote.
“We are horrified by the shooting that occurred this evening outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., and mourn the loss of the two individuals killed in the attack,” said Jewish Federation of Greater Washington CEO Gil Preuss in a statement emailed to Washington Jewish Week. “Our hearts are with their families and loved ones, and with all of those who are impacted by this tragic act of antisemitic violence.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered his condolences to the victims’ families.
“My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were suddenly cut short by a vile antisemitic murderer,” Netanyahu said.
“We are shocked and horrified this morning by the news of a brutal terrorist attack that claimed the lives of two of our Embassy staff members in Washington,” the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a post on X.
“Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives,” Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said on X 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.”
