Image source, Getty Images

At 21:08 local time (02:08 BST) on Wednesday, police received multiple calls about a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington DC.

A man and a woman were found unconscious and not breathing at the scene, and later died.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) have alleged that the shooting was committed by Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, who is being questioned in custody.

MPD Chief Pamela Smith says Rodriguez was seen pacing up and down outside the museum before opening fire with a handgun on a group of four people.

The suspect then went inside the museum, where he was detained. Police say he chanted "free, free Palestine" while in custody.

MPD are leading the investigation. The FBI says it is looking into "ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on bias-based crime or a hate crime".

Police have named Elias Rodriguez as the only suspect and say he has "implied that he committed the offence".

Rodriguez is 30 and from Chicago, according to police, and wasn't known to police before this incident.

Officers say the suspect chanted "free Palestine, free Palestine" while in custody.

The organiser of the event attended by the victims before the shooting says that, after the attack, the suspect went into the Capital Jewish Museum looking "very distraught". She didn't know he was the attacker and gave him water.

Image source, Reuters

Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, says he was horrified by "the deadly act of antisemitic violence".

"Antisemitism has no place in our nation, and its rise must be urgently crushed by people of goodwill across America and throughout the world," he says.

He sends his support to the victims' loved ones and adds: "America will stand firmly with the Jewish community during this great hour of need."

Image source, Embassy of Israel to the USA

As we've been reporting, the two people killed in a shooting in Washington DC have been named by the Israeli foreign ministry as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.

Both worked at Israel's embassy in Washington DC.

They were a couple, according to Israel's ambassador to the US, who said the young man had bought a ring this week and planned to propose next week in Jerusalem.

The pair had been at an event organised by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum. It was described as a cocktail evening for young Jewish professionals and open to the DC diplomatic community. The organiser says the event aimed to help people in Gaza.

They were shot dead at around 21:05 local time (02:05 BST) as they were leaving the event.

Image source, Getty Images

The chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, which organised the event the victims attended before they were killed, has called the incident a "painful moment".

"This is a shocking act of violence and our community is holding each other tighter tonight," Ted Deutch writes. “We mourn with the victims’ families, loved ones, and all of Israel. May their memories be for a blessing."

The American Jewish Committee is a global advocacy group for Jewish people.

Staff at the Capital Jewish Museum, where the attack took place just outside, say they are "deeply saddened and horrified by the senseless violence outside the museum this evening".

In a post on X, they write: "Our condolences and heartfelt sympathies go to the victims and their families."

Shooting follows global criticism of Israel expanding Gaza offensivepublished at 09:55 British Summer Time

09:55 BST

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

This deadly shooting in Washington DC has come at a critical moment amid mounting international criticism over Israel’s expanding military offensive in Gaza and the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis there.

At a rare news conference on Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister rejected the condemnation of key allies. He said Israel was open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages held by Hamas, but otherwise would press ahead with an intense campaign to gain total control of Gaza.

This week, amid warnings that famine is looming, Israel has eased its 11-week-long total blockade of Gaza, which it said was to put pressure on Hamas. Dozens of trucks of UN aid have now entered, but that is a fraction of what is desperately needed.

While officials in Israel have all blamed antisemitism for the killing of the young embassy staff, many have also linked it to recent global criticism of Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war.

One minister said the British and Canadian prime ministers and France’s president had “all in different ways emboldened the forces of terror”.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has spoken about the deaths of two embassy staff in Washington DC.

He says he spoke to the father of Yaron Lischinsky and told him his son was a warrior who "fell as a soldier falls on the front lines".

Sa'ar says this attack is a "direct result of antisemitic incitement that has been absolutely toxic that has been going on since the 7 October massacre", when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages.

He says Israeli missions are targets of "antisemitic terrorism", adding that this incitement is coming from officials and leaders around the world, especially in Europe.

Image source, Getty Images

Israeli minister for diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, has issued a statement condemning the leaders of the UK, France and Canada, accusing them of having "emboldened the forces of terror".

On Tuesday, Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney released a joint statement, describing Israel's new Gaza offensive as "wholly disproportionate" and calling for restrictions on humanitarian aid to be lifted, warning of "concrete actions" if not.

In response to the shooting in Washington DC, Chikli points out that the suspect shouted "Free Palestine". He says those words have "become a banner not for peace but for hatred" and are being used to demonise Israel, accusing those saying it of "echoing antisemitism".

"We must also hold to account the irresponsible leaders in the West who give backing to this hatred – whether through appeasement, double standards, or silence," he says, calling out the three leaders who he claims "have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines".

"This cowardice has a price – and that price is paid in Jewish blood," Chikli says.

Countries including the UK and France have responded to the shooting - David Lammy says it is an "appalling, antisemitic crime".

We’re starting to hear some first reactions from around the world.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says he is "horrified by the killing of two Israeli embassy staff" in Washington DC. He adds that the UK condemns the "appalling, antisemitic crime".

France has also condemned the fatal shooting, calling it "an abhorrent act of antisemitic barbarity". French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot says "nothing can justify such violence".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called it "a despicable act", condemning it "in the strongest terms" and saying "at the moment we must assume there was an anti-Semitic motive".

Italy's foreign minister says his country stands with Israel, as he condemned Wednesday's "scenes of terror and violence".

"There is and should be no place in our societies for hatred, extremism, or antisemitism," says EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

As we've been reporting, two Israeli embassy staff members have been shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.

The incident happened in the heart of the US capital, less than a mile from Capitol Hill and about 1.3 miles (2km), from the White House.

The Israeli foreign ministry has confirmed the full names of the victims: Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.

It says both were embassy staff members in Washington DC.

"We embrace the grieving families during this painful time and will continue to support them always," it says in a statement on social media.

Our North America correspondent Nomia Iqbal is outside the cordon around the Jewish museum in Washington DC where the shooting happened.

She’s giving us a quick overview of what took place, and she’s also spoken to the organiser of the event the two victims had been at before the shooting.

Watch below.

Levi Shemtov is a rabbi in Washington who met the couple who were shot dead.

He tells the BBC's Radio 4's Today programme that he saw the couple at Jewish events in the city.

They were "nice people, popular" people he says, and this is "brutal news".

Jewish community organisations have beefed up their security in recent years, he says, and "especially after 7 October", when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.

The attack triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

"We have armed guards at [synagogue] services every week," Shemtov says, adding that they will be increasing security even more now.

Image source, Embassy of Israel to the USA

Israel’s embassy in the US has named the couple shot dead in Washington as Yaron and Sarah.

Israeli media reports their full names are Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

The victims “were in the prime of their lives,” the embassy posts on X, external. “A terrorist shot and killed them as they exited an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in DC,” it says.

The embassy says its staff are “heartbroken and devastated” by the murder.

“No words can express the depth of our grief and horror at this devastating loss. Our hearts are with their families, and the embassy will be by their side during this terrible time.”

This is the moment the suspect was detained after the shooting in Washington DC.

The man can be heard shouting "free Palestine" as he is led away.

As we've reported, police have named 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago as the only suspect.

Jake Kwon
North America correspondent

The event the victims attended at the Capital Jewish Museum was billed as a cocktail evening for young Jewish professionals to foster unity and celebrate Jewish heritage.

Its organiser, American Jewish Committee, says it was open to those in the DC diplomatic community. The event's theme was advertised as "turning pain into purpose".

The event description said it invited as special guests humanitarian aid organisers responding to humanitarian crises in the Middle East, including Gaza.

While the event's hours were publicly advertised, its location was only shared with those who signed up to attend.

We've been hearing more from Jojo Kalin, who organised the American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.

She tells the BBC Today programme she saw the attacker inside the building, looking "very distraught" after the shooting.

"The security let this person in thinking that they were a bystander or witness," she says.

Jojo gave him some water because he seemed distressed, but she didn’t see a weapon.

At that point, "he whips out his red Jordanian keffiyeh and he yells Free Palestine."

She says the event was about building coalitions in the Middle East, and it's "deeply ironic that what we were discussing was bridge building and then we were all hit over the head with such hatred".

Image source, Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says security will be increased for Israeli representatives and at diplomatic missions worldwide.

"My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were cut short by a heinous antisemitic murderer," he says. "We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against the state of Israel."

A statement from the prime minister's office says he has spoken with US attorney general Pam Bondi and Israel's ambassador in the country.

Trump quick to blame attack on antisemitismpublished at 07:21 British Summer Time

07:21 BST

Jake Kwon
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump and his top officials took to social media after news of the shooting broke, vowing to fight antisemitism.

The word has frequently appeared in his communication as well as official orders since his return to office. When he went after America's elite universities, including suspending federal funding for Harvard, it was in response to the pro-Palestinian protests that swept university campuses last year.

He accused the institutions of failing to protect Jewish students and allowing antisemitism to run rampant.

However, Trump's critics have accused him of simply using antisemitism as a pretext to purge the universities of his opponents and bolster his support.

Last month a group of Jewish Democratic senators sent a letter to Trump condemning his "attacks against universities" which they said "seem to go far beyond combating antisemitism".