Here’s what we know about the DC shooting where 2 staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed

WASHINGTON AP Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington a young couple on the verge of becoming engaged were fatally shot Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum and the suspect yelled Free free Palestine after he was arrested police announced The attack was seen by functionaries in Israel and the U S as the latest in a growing wave of antisemitism as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Gaza Strip and as food safety experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless Israel s blockade ends Israeli Ambassador to the U S Yechiel Leiter noted the man had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem Here s what we know In this image taken from video provided by WJLA law enforcement work the scene after two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday May in Washington WJLA via AP What happened The two casualties a man and a woman were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum around p m Wednesday when the suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith announced at a news conference The suspect was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event precaution Smith disclosed When he was taken into custody the suspect began chanting Free free Palestine Smith noted She disclosed law enforcement did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the neighborhood The violence occurred following the American Jewish Committee s annual Young Diplomats reception at the museum Who is the suspect The suspect has been identified as Elias Rodriguez of Chicago It was not forthwith clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on his behalf A telephone number listed in inhabitants records rang unanswered He was being interviewed early Thursday by D C s Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI The U S attorney in Washington will prosecute the episode Who are the casualties Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the casualties as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim Lischinsky was a research assistant and Milgrim organized visits and missions to Israel Former Israeli Ambassador to the U S Mike Herzog described Israeli Army Radio that the woman killed was an American employee of the embassy and the man was Israeli What is Israel s reaction Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s office stated Thursday that he was shocked by the horrific antisemitic shooting We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel he revealed in a declaration Israeli diplomats in the past have been targeted by violence both by state-backed assailants and Palestinian militants over the decades of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict that grew out of the founding of Israel in The Palestinians seek Gaza and the West Bank for a future state with east Jerusalem as its capital lands Israel captured in the war However the peace process between the sides has been stalled for years Onlookers to the attack Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed they noted Kalin disclosed people came to his aid and brought him water thinking he needed help without realizing he was the suspect When police arrived he pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled Free Palestine Kalin disclosed This event was about humanitarian aid Kalin revealed How can we in fact 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 definitely help innocent people And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood The influential pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera aired on a loop what appeared to be mobile phone footage of the alleged gunman wearing a suit jacket and slacks being pulled away after the shooting his hands behind his back Israel s new campaign in Gaza The shooting comes as Israel has launched a new campaign targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a war that has set tensions aflame across the wider Middle East The war began with the Palestinian militant group Hamas coming out of Gaza on Oct to kill people and take particular hostages back to the coastal enclave In the time since Israel s devastating campaign in Gaza has killed more than people mostly women and children according to local healthcare government whose count doesn t differentiate between combatants and civilians The fighting has displaced of the territory s roughly million population sparked a hunger situation and obliterated vast swaths of Gaza s urban landscape Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago and majority of the population of around million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted The story has been updated to correct the suspect s age to from based on updated information from law enforcement