A scream, gunshots and an undelivered ring: Israeli diplomats murdered in Washington were planning to get married

A couple employed by the Israeli Embassy were shot to death Wednesday night outside the Jewish Museum in Washington. The young couple, who were planning to marry, had been attending an American Jewish Committee event.

"The young man had bought a ring this week to ask his girlfriend to marry him next week in Jerusalem," Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter commented.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.

Lischinsky immigrated to Israel from his native Germany at age 16 and settled in Jerusalem. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an assistant in the embassy's policy department and was responsible for monitoring trends and developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

Milgrim, an American Jew who earned degrees from the University of Kansas and American University, had worked in the embassy's Public Diplomacy Department since November 2023, according to her online profile. She was tasked with organizing missions and visits to Israel.

Deadly attack at Jewish Museum

The attack took place on the sidewalk in front of the Jewish Museum in the U.S. capital, which was hosting an event for young professionals and diplomats. Police explained that the suspect entered the museum after the shooting and was arrested inside.

The alleged perpetrator, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, after being taken into custody shouted "Free Palestine," authorities said.

"We believe the shooting was committed by a single suspect, who is already in custody," Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith told reporters. "Prior to the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside the museum. He approached a group of four people, pulled out a gun and opened fire," she said.

Police officers went to the vicinity of the Jewish Museum of the Capitol after receiving "multiple calls about a shooting" around 21:08 (local time). Once there, they "located an adult male and an adult female unconscious and not breathing" who later died of their injuries, despite the quick attention of emergency services.

"Brazen act of cowardly and anti-Semitic violence"

"These horrific murders in Washington DC, obviously motivated by anti-Semitism, must end NOW!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Hate and radicalism have no place in America," the president added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also promised that those responsible would be brought to justice, according to a post on X, following what he called a "brazen act of cowardly, anti-Semitic violence."

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered increased security at the country’s diplomatic missions around the world, and attributed the attack to the "savage incitement" to violence "against the State of Israel."

The attack was also condemned by the governments of Germany, Spain, France and Italy. EU diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas said she was "shocked" and asserted that "there can be no room in our societies for hatred, extremism or anti-Semitism."

"Terrorism and hatred will not break us," said Israel's President Isaac Herzog, "shocked" by the double murder.