What We Know About the Israeli Embassy Employees Killed in DC

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were identified Thursday as the two people killed in a shooting Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.

The suspect, who authorities believe acted alone, was arrested by a museum security guard after he entered the building following the shooting. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino called the shooting an "act of targeted violence" in a post to X.

The Metropolitan Police Department identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said in a press briefing that Rodriguez chanted "free, free Palestine" while being arrested.

Lischinsky, 30, and Milgrim, 26, both worked for the Israeli Embassy, the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a statement shared to X.

The pair met while working at the Embassy and were soon to be engaged, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said at a press briefing.

Lischinsky and Milgrim were set to travel to Israel on Sunday, Milgrim's father, Robert Milgrim, told the New York Times. While there, she was going to meet his family for the first time and Lischinsky had planned to propose, he said.

Here's what we know about the victims so far:

Yaron Lischinsky

Lischinsky was a research assistant at the Israeli Embassy in D.C. since September 2022, according to his LinkedIn.

He was previously a desk officer at the Population and Immigration Authority in Jerusalem.

Lischinsky received a Bachelor's degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied international relations and Asian affairs.

He also received a Master's degree in government, diplomacy and strategy from Reichman University with a focus on diplomacy and conflict studies.

Lischinsky had dual Israeli-German citizenship, the German Embassy confirmed to Axios. He moved to Israel at 16, per the New York Times.

He grew up with a Jewish father and a Christian mother and was a practicing Christian, the New York Times reported.

Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to Germany, called Lischinsky "bright, curious, engaged" in a post to X.

Prosor said he had taught Lischinsky when he was a student at Reichman University and also worked with him as a diplomat.

"He was a Christian, a true lover of Israel, served in the IDF, and chose to dedicate his life to the State of Israel and the Zionist cause," Prosor wrote.

Nissim Otmazgin, the Dean of Humanities at Hebrew University, told CNN that Lischinsky's "dream was to become a diplomat."

"In many ways, I think for me, he symbolizes the hope of Israel," Otmazgin said, adding that he was "idealistic" and "trying to do good for their country."

"So in this sense, it is not only a personal tragedy, it's also kind of public tragedy," he said.

Sarah Lynn Milgrim

Milgrim had been working at the embassy since November 2023 in its Department of Public Diplomacy, according to her LinkedIn.

She previously worked at Tech2Peace in Tel Aviv, where she focused on "the role of friendships in the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding process," per LinkedIn.

She obtained a Bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas. Her LinkedIn also showed two Master's degrees — one from the University for Peace and the other from American University.

KU Hillel, a Jewish student group at Kansas University, said in a statement that Milgrim's "bright spirit and passion for the Jewish community touched everyone fortunate enough to know her."

"Those closest to her describe her as 'the definition of the best person," the statement continued.

Her father said he saw news alerts for the shooting Wednesday night and his wife checked their daughter's location, only to see it at the crime scene.

"I pretty much already knew," he told the New York Times. "I was hoping to be wrong."