Who is the anti-Israel suspect in the killing of 2 Israeli embassy staffers?

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Suspect in DC shooting of 2 Israeli embassy staffers shouts ‘free Palestine’

Elias Rodriguez of Chicago was seen shouting "free Palestine" Wednesday while being detained for the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers. (Instagram/@shinewithisrael)

The anti-Israel suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli Embassy staffers leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., last night was identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago. 

The Embassy of Israel to the U.S. said the victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were set to be engaged. Rodriguez is believed to have committed the act alone and is in custody, said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith. 

A gun was also recovered from the scene. FBI agents are now looking through writings they believe were authored by Rodriguez. In Chicago, state, local and federal agencies are searching his apartment Thursday, police sources told Fox News.

Katie Kalisher, who was at the museum Wednesday night, told “FOX & Friends” on Thursday that she had an interaction with Rodriguez prior to his arrest. She said Rodriguez – who looked distressed and was covered in rain – came into the facility after 10 to 15 gunshots were heard outside and asked for somebody to call the police. 

“I’m like, ‘so, do you like this museum?’ And he’s like, kind of playing dumb with me. He’s like, ‘oh, what kind of museum is this?’ And I’m like ‘it’s a Jewish museum. He asks ‘Do you think that is why they did it?’ in reference to gunshots we had heard. And I was like, ‘yeah maybe, I don’t know but I don’t think so, I hope not,’” Kalisher said. “And that is when he reaches into his bag and pulls out a kaffiyeh and says to me, ‘I did it. I did this for Gaza.’ And then he starts shouting ‘Free, Free Palestine!’ and the police show up and arrest him.” 

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Elias Rodriguez, the 30-year-old suspect accused of shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Smith said the preliminary investigation shows Rodriguez was allegedly observed pacing back and forth outside the museum before he approached a group of four people exiting the building, including the two victims, and began shooting. 

He then entered the museum, where he was detained by event security. While in custody, he yelled “Free, free Palestine!” Smith also said. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday that “Last night’s act of terror has the full attention of the FBI. 

“Targeted anti-Semitic violence is an attack on our core values and will be met with the full weight of federal law enforcement,” he wrote on X. “The individual responsible will be held accountable, and the Bureau will continue pursuing every lead until justice is served.”

A LinkedIn page purportedly belonging to Rodriguez listed him as most recently working for the American Osteopathic Information Association. 

“The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) joins with the American Osteopathic Information Association (AOIA) to express our profound sorrow in response to the tragic shooting deaths of two Israeli embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, on Wednesday evening,” AOA President Teresa Hubka and CEO Kathleen Creason said in a joint statement.

“We were shocked and saddened to learn that an AOIA employee has been arrested as a suspect in this horrific crime. Both the AOIA and AOA stand ready to cooperate with the investigation in any way we can. As a physician organization dedicated to protecting the health and sanctity of human life, we believe in the rights of all persons to live safely without fear of violence,” they added. “We extend our deepest sympathy to the victims’ loved ones, wishing them peace, comfort and strength during this unimaginably difficult time.”

Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were about to be engaged. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Prior to that role, Rodriguez purportedly worked as a production and logistics coordinator and oral history researcher with The HistoryMakers, which describes itself on its website as a “non-profit research and educational institution committed to preserving and making widely accessible the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans.” 

“Elias Rodriguez is an Oral History Researcher at The HistoryMakers, where he prepares detailed research outlines and biographies of accomplished leaders in the African American community,” reads a biography of him that has since been taken down from the nonprofit’s website. 

“Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he holds a B.A. degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to joining The HistoryMakers in 2023, he worked as a content writer for commercial and noncommercial firms in the technology space, both national and regionally based,” it continued. “He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places.” 

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The HistoryMakers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

A 2017 article in Liberation News – the newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation – mentioned that an Elias Rodriguez was among the protesters who “gathered outside Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s house to demand justice for Laquan McDonald and an end to the ethnic cleansing of Chicago vis-à-vis gentrification on Oct. 20, [2017] the anniversary of McDonald’s murder by Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke.” 

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“The event, organized by the People’s Congress of Resistance, ANSWER Chicago and Black Lives Matter Women of Faith, gathered in front of Mayor Emanuel’s Ravenswood home in response to the $2.25 billion bid for an Amazon headquarters in the city of Chicago,” it continued. 

“Elias Rodriguez from the Party for Socialism and Liberation argued that the murder of Laquan McDonald and the Chicago bid for an Amazon headquarters are not two separate issues, but rather they are both connected,” the article read.  

“’The wealth that Amazon has brought to Seattle has not been shared with its Black residents,’ Rodriguez said. ‘[Amazon’s] whitening of Seattle is structurally racist and a direct danger to all workers who live in that city. So do we in Chicago and all across the country want a nation of cities dominated and occupied by massive corporations where only the rich and White can live and the vast majority of us must live on edges of the city and society living in deeper and deeper poverty? I don’t think so,’” the article quoted Rodriguez as saying. 

The Party for Socialism and Liberation then wrote on X this morning that “We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting.  

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speak to law enforcement officials at the site of the shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

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“Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017. We know of no contact with him in over 7 years. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it,” it said. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett, Bradford Betz, David Spunt and Alexis McAdams contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.