Washington DC Shooting Victims Identified

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified the victims of Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, DC as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

The two Israeli embassy employees were outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum for young diplomats and Jewish professionals hosted by the American Jewish Committee.

“We are shocked and horrified this morning by the news of the brutal terrorist attack that claimed the lives of two of our Embassy staff members in Washington — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a post to X on Thursday.

“We embrace the grieving families during this painful time and will continue to support them always,” the post read.

In a separate post, the Israeli Embassy to the US wrote, “Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives.”

“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.”

Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, said the couple was about to be engaged.

“A young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple,” he said.

The couple were murdered Wednesday evening when an assailant shot at close range and killed them. The alleged shooter later was recorded shouting, “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did it for Gaza,” and opened a backpack, withdrawing a red Keffiyeh.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith has identified the suspect in the shooting as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago.