The shooting took place just a few steps away from the FBI’s Washington Field Office in Northwest Washington DC.
Two staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot dead on Wednesday evening as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum in Washington DC, said police. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference that the two victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the 30-year-old suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire.
Suspect yelled ‘free, free Palestine’
The suspect was seen pacing outside the museum prior to the shooting. After opening fire and fatally shooting the two Israeli embassy staff members, he walked into the museum, Smith said.
When he was taken into custody, the man began chanting, “free, free Palestine,” Smith said.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the deaths in a post on X after the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, which is located steps away from the FBI’s field office in the nation’s capital. “Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC. We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims. We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice,” she said.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said that she, along with acting US attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, has arrived at the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
Act of anti-Semitic terrorism
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned the incident and termed it a “depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism”. In a post on X, he said, “The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
“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 those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world,” he said.
(With AP inputs)
Also Read: Trump confronts South African president Ramaphosa over alleged targeting of white farmers
Also Read: Donald Trump slams reporter for asking about Qatari jet: ‘You need to get out of here’
