Israeli embassy gunman Elias Rodriguez faces death penalty after ‘firing 21 shots & reloading as victims crawled away’

Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26

THE man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy officials in Washington fired 21 shots and reloaded as his wounded victims crawled away, according to court documents.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, appeared in court yesterday charged with murder - and could face the death penalty if convicted.

The Chicago native was caught on camera unloading several rounds into Yaron Lischinsky, 28, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, after pacing outside the Capital Jewish Museum, according to the arrest affidavit.

The pair collapsed after being shot but the gunman continued his onslaught, the document says.

Footage shows him looming over the couple, already ragged by bullets, and firing at them again, charging documents show.

Rodriguez allegedly then pursued Milgrim as she tried to escape and finished her off.

Rodriguez unloaded at least 21 shots during the cold-blooded slaughter, according to police sources, using a high-end German-design H&K 9mm pistol, reports the Post.

It's unclear how many times each victim was shot.

Footage shows Rodriguez shouting "free Palestine" as he is hauled out of the Capital Jewish Museum in handcuffs.

He had been ushered inside alongside civilians in the confusion following the shooting.

A "death penalty eligible case"

The suspect appeared in federal court in Washington on Thursday facing charges of murder of foreign officials - while prosecutors say additional charges are likely.

He was not handcuffed and nodded along while the judge read him the charges, the MailOnline has reported.

Interim US Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro, who is leading the prosecution, has said it is "far too early" to say if the death penalty will be sought.

However, she added that this is a "death penalty eligible case".

Heartbreaking details about the victims have emerged in the wake of the tragedy.

The pair were reportedly madly in love, and Lischinsky had secretly bought an engagement ring just days earlier.

He had planned to propose on a vacation to Jerusalem, where they planned to travel on Sunday to see Lischinsky's family who live there.

She never found out that her boyfriend of a year and a half was planning to propose.

Milgrim and Lischinsky, who were both Jewish, were working for the Israeli Embassy when they were killed.

He helped plan missions for Jewish people in America, and Lischinsky was a research assistant.

Milgrim's heartbroken parents have opened up about their love for Lischinsky as they described him as an "incredible" man who was devoted to their daughter.

"He was very much like Sarah: passionate, extremely intelligent, dedicated to what he does, always on the cause of what’s right," her dad Robert told the New York Times.

Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy, mourned the loss of the couple and described seeing their affection for one another just hours before their deaths.

"Yaron and Sarah, words cannot begin to describe the heartbreak and sorrow," she wrote on X.

"Just this morning, we were still laughing together by the coffee corner - and now, all that remains is a picture.

"Instead of walking you down the aisle, we are walking with you to your graves. What an unbearable loss."

In a statement released by the Embassy, the two were described as being in the "prime of their lives."

"The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their murder," the statement said.

"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."

Who is Elias Rodriguez?

Elias Rodriguez is the man accused of killing the two Israeli embassy staff in Washington outside the Capital Jewish Museum.

He is understood to have been a far-left activist who was fairly well-known in Washington's protest scene. Resurfaced images appear to show Rodriguez at pro-Gaza demonstrations in the past.

Social media posts also claim he is affiliated with the Party for Socialism & Liberation in the US which is seen as far-left.

The group confirmed in a post on X that Rodriguez had a "brief association" with them.

The group added that Rodriguez was not a member and that his activism with them ended in 2017.

A spokesperson said: “We reject any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting. Elias Rodriguez is not a member of the PSL. We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it.”

Source: thesun.co.uk, Patrick Harrington, May 23, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Kuwait | New Anti-Drug Law Introduces Death Penalty, Surprise Testing, and Strict Enforcement

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Divorce rates in Kuwait are rising, with recent statistics indicating that addiction—particularly among wives—has become a significant contributing factor. In response, authorities are preparing to introduce surprise premarital drug testing as part of a broader set of reforms under Kuwait’s new drug law. The countdown has officially begun for the enforcement of this new legislation, which was drafted by a judicial committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef. The committee is headed by Counselor Mohammed Rashid Al-Duaij.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog