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Two Israeli Embassy Staffers Killed in D.C. Shooting. Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired May 22, 2025 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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CHIEF PAMELA SMITH, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Located in the 500 Block of Third Street Northwest when the shooting occurred. We believe the shooting was committed by a single suspect who is in custody. Prior to the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum. He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun, and opened fire, striking both of our decedents.

After the shooting, the suspect then entered the event and was detained by event security. Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense. The suspect chanted, free, free Palestine, while in custody. The suspect has been tentatively identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois.

Our MPD case detectives are leading this investigation. I will now turn it over to Washington field office assistant associate director Steve Jensen.

STEVE JENSEN, FBI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: Thank you, Chief.

I'm Steve Jensen, the assistant director in charge of the Washington field office. I'd also like to express my sincere condolences not only to the family of the victims but to the ambassador and the grievance for the Israeli nation.

Tonight, a heinous crime was committed, and the FBI stands with the Metropolitan Police Department to help not only investigate the homicide and provide support, but also to look into ties to potential terrorism or motivation based on a bias based crime or a hate crime. That's our reason for being here. Full support of the FBI to Metropolitan Police Department to resolve this.

And I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Metropolitan Police Department for their quick action, their attempts to render aid despite the nature of the crime resulting in the death of the victims. Getting the subject in custody quickly resolved this issue and allows us to continue with the investigation.

And with that, I'll turn it over to the ambassador.

YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Thank you. Really what I have to say this evening is thank you, Mayor, to your amazing staff, Attorney General Bondi. Attorney, chief attorney for Washington, Judge Jeanine Pirro.

The couple that was gunned down tonight in the name of free Palestine is a young couple about to be engaged. The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington's Cultural Center.

I will say this. We are a resilient people. The people of Israel are resilient people, and the people of the United States of America are resilient people. Together, we won't be afraid. Together we'll stand and we're going to overcome moral depravity of people who think that they're going to achieve political gains through murder.

On the way in, Miss Bondi was kind enough to hand me the phone. On the other line was the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who told me that his administration is going to do everything it can possibly do to fight and end antisemitism and the hatred that's being directed, the demonization and delegitimization of the state of Israel. Together with President Trump, our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will stand, we'll stand together tall and firm, and we will confront this moral depravity without fear and with determination.

And now we'll turn to taking care of the families of these two victims. And again, I thank the American administration and the city of Washington and the law enforcement officers who are on this case going to get to the bottom of it and bring justice to this city, and to the people of Washington and the United States, and the people of Israel who are here feeling confident and safe in the city of Washington and around the United States of America.

Thank you.

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER, WASHINGTON, D.C.: Let's take a few questions, Chief.

SHOMARI STONE, FOX 5 D.C., REPORTER: Hi. Shomari Stone from FOX Five D.C. You say that there is a suspect in custody right now and he walked into the museum. What is he telling investigators tonight?

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SMITH: Well, I don't know what he's telling them at this moment. What I do know is that he is in custody. And as you know, Omari, we have to conduct an investigation and that requires us to ask many questions. At the time of this press conference, I'm not privileged to that information as of right now.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Evan Perez with CNN.

Is there any indication when he entered the Jewish museum that he was planning to carry out additional shootings? Was he trying to harm other people? Is there any indication -- can you tell us any more about that? And also for the attorney general and the U.S. attorney, can you say whether, given the diplomatic component of this, does this become a federal investigation, a federal crime, to be prosecuted by the federal government?

SMITH: So in response to your first question, we're still conducting the investigation. And at this moment, again, it's preliminary. So you'll have to give us a little bit more time to determine what the motives were at this point.

BOWSER: Let me just jump in, Chief. And you heard from the chief and from the special agent in charge that MPD is investigating the homicides, and the FBI's role of course, as always, when there is any possibility of a terrorist act or acts motivated by hate or other bias, the FBI will be conducting those investigations.

All homicides are prosecuted in the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. OK.

CARL WILLIS, SEVEN NEWS, REPORTER: Carl Willis, Seven News. Just a question about, after everything that happened, the stance from local and possibly federal law enforcement about any protection moving forward or heightened security for this community.

BOWSER: Thank you for that question. And I'm going to turn to the chief, but we have a long history. And a lot of practice in our city of working with Jewish organizations around safety and around protection. And we watch global events, national events and local events, and our organizations work directly with MPD, and MPD responds with additional resources.

And so I know the chief will spend tonight and tomorrow, and we'll be talking to all of our organizations, from schools to synagogues to other organizations, to make sure we are supporting in every way that we can. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: From the New York Times. You mentioned that the suspect was detained by event security after entering the museum.

BOWSER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is it correct to say that he surrendered voluntarily to security, or was he forcefully detained?

SMITH: I don't know that we can say that right now. It's part of what MPD is investigating. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hi, (INAUDIBLE), Ami magazine. I have a question for the police chief. I want to know if there was perhaps any indication that something like this might happen. Was there any heightened security or threats that you were aware of? And also for the Attorney General, do you have a message for Jewish Americans who are feeling concerned for their safety tonight?

SMITH: What I will say to your first question is that we have not received any intelligence with respect to any type of terrorist act or hate crime in our city. As you know, we work very well with all of our partners in the intelligence community. And had we received any information, as we would do anytime, we would ensure that we had heightened security around our city at some of -- at most of our synagogues.

BOWSER: If I could just add, and then general. We have for a number of years, we put out grants to organizations and we allow organizations to apply for grants. And there have been a lot of faith organizations that have applied for special security grants. And so we continue to do that in the city. We've been able to deploy millions of dollars so organizations can have increased security.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mayor, thank you. Chief, thank you.

Ambassador, our hearts go out to you and your staff.

I spoke to the president of the United States multiple times tonight. On behalf of the president, his prayers are with all of us. All of the Jewish community. Everyone in Washington, D.C., state, local and federal agencies and our great U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, who will be prosecuting this case. We'll be doing everything in our power to keep all citizens safe, especially tonight, our Jewish community.

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Our prayers go out. We have the FBI, all of our federal agencies will work hand in hand with you, Chief, as we have done. And you, Mayor, to do everything we can to keep our citizens safe. We will follow the facts. We will follow the law. And this defendant, if charged, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

BOWSER: OK. Last two. One. Two. Yes.

MICHAEL KOZIOL, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, REPORTER: Hi, I'm Michael Koziol, the Sydney Morning Herald. Just on the man in custody. Could you confirm the spelling of his name? You said that he was from Chicago. Do we know if he traveled to D.C. with the intention of, you know, committing this act? And just finally, did he say anything else while in police custody other than free, free Palestine?

SMITH: So the correct spelling of his first name is E, as in echo, L as in lima, I as in India, A as in apple, S as in Sierra. Last name Rodriguez, Romeo, Oscar, Delta, Romeo, India, Golf, Uniform, Echo, Zulu.

And as I've stated before, the case is still under investigation and that will be determined with regards to if he's said any other statements while in custody.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're uncertain at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How old is Mr. Rodriguez?

SMITH: Thirty years old.

BEATRIC PETERSON, ABC NEWS, REPORTER: Beatrice Peterson, ABC News. I was wondering, is this individual known to police? Have you had any prior interactions with him? SMITH: We have not had any prior interactions with him based on an

NCIC check. We don't see anything in his background that would have placed him on our radar at this time. But again, our joint terrorism task force is working very closely with the FBI to ensure that we can do a deep dive into his background. OK.

STONE: Shomari Stone, FOX Five, real quick question. You said that he was pacing back and forth in front of the building prior to this incident. Did security engage with the suspect prior to the shooting? Did he look suspicious? Did they see him outside?

SMITH: I am not sure about that at this time. That's a part of the investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you.

SMITH: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is there any indication that the firearm that was used in the crime was purchased illegally, legally obtained? Was there a serial number or was it filed off? Do we know any details right now?

SMITH: Our ATF partners will do a deep dive with respect to the firearms, as they typically would with any firearms here in the District of Columbia.

BOWSER: So thank you, and expect as we have more to report to get additional facts from the Metropolitan Police Department. Thank you.

MJ LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: You have been watching a live presser on a shooting in Washington, D.C. Police say two staff members from the Israeli embassy in D.C. have been killed near the Capital Jewish Museum. There's believed to be a single suspect who is now in custody. That is according to the Metropolitan Police.

The police chief also saying during this press conference that the suspect first approached a group, produced a handgun and then proceeded to open fire. And one other important detail. The suspect said, according to the police, the words "Free Palestine, Free Palestine," while they were in custody.

CNN's Gabe Cohen joins me now on the phone.

Gabe, obviously, these initial details are coming in. We do know a lot more now from law enforcement than even 10, 15, 20 minutes ago. What stood out to you and what are the other steps that law enforcement would be taking now as these details are coming in and with the suspect now in custody?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, I think the mayor of D.C., Muriel Bowser, her opening statement during the press conference really stood out the tone and the language that she used given that the shooting happened just about three hours ago. And yet she felt compelled to say that this incident will frighten people both here in the nation's capital and across the country, and that, frankly, the district is not going to tolerate hate in our community or acts of terrorism or antisemitism.

Those were words that she used. And, you know, we learned a lot more about the shooting that you laid out some of the details there, but obviously just tragic details about this shooting just after 9:00 p.m. outside the Capital Jewish Museum where this couple that was soon to be engaged, according to the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. who spoke during that press conference.

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This couple was leaving the museum when the shooter was seen pacing outside. He approached a group of four people including those two. He opened fire at them. He killed the man and woman. Then entered the museum where he was obtained. We don't know, though, if he was, if he gave himself up voluntarily taken into custody or if he was taken down by security.

But, you know, as you mentioned, once he was in custody, he yelled free, free Palestine. And this is, again, as the police chief laid out, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, who is their primary suspect, their lone suspect in this shooting. No doubt they're going to be looking into any ties he potentially has to terrorist groups. The FBI looking into this as a potential hate crime.

But I can tell you, just having covered concerns about antisemitism across Washington, D.C. over the past couple of years, this is a community that's been on high alert. You might remember a little more than a year ago, there was a member of the military that self- immolated outside of the Israeli embassy, who videotaped it, streamed it live, talked about the reason he was doing it being Israel's military action in Gaza.

And so there has been a serious concern among Jewish groups in the nation's capital about safety and security. And so, no doubt, those communities here and across the United States are going to be on high alert in the coming days. You heard the mayor of D.C. say that her administration is going to be talking to schools, to synagogues, making sure that they have the necessary security in place.

But this is an incident that really has shaken this city. And we also know that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, called the Israeli ambassador a little earlier tonight and essentially sent the message that his administration is going to provide whatever resources they need and is going to stand with Israel.

And so, again, MJ, a lot of details in that press conference but I think it will only really inflame the tensions that are already happening amid the war in Gaza.

LEE: Yes, you're absolutely right about how jarring this is going to be for a lot of folks tuning in.

I want to go next to our colleague John Miller. You obviously have been reporting on and talking to your sources from the initial moments of when we found out that there was an incident. John, I really want your take on what stood out to you from all of the

details that we just heard from this press conference, and particularly this detail, that the suspect while in custody said the words free Palestine. Does that paint a clear picture of. Motivation?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it certainly does. It doesn't leave much to the imagination in terms of motive when he's in custody and that's what he's saying. But what we learned, which is he approached four people. He had been pacing around. When he approached those four people he opened fire. Three were injured. Obviously, as we know, two were killed. And Gabe told us that the tragic background of that story.

But if you go between those lines in how he conducted himself before he committed this horrific act, allegedly, what you see is someone who put himself on the scene of that event, waited for it to end, and then opens fire, kills two people and then discards the weapon, but he walks into the event. He contacts security and basically says, here's where you can find the gun, implying that he's the shooter.

And when they take him into custody without any resistance, he says free, free Palestine. So what do you get from that? What you get from that is this was something that was planned ahead rather than spontaneous. This was something that was targeted. But more importantly, this is something that the gunman wanted to be associated with. Didn't attempt to get away, didn't attempt to flee.

When he wasn't immediately captured after the shooting, actually, instead of trying to get away, walked inside the museum, according to police, made contact with security and made statements implying he was the shooter. And then he made his political statement, which obviously goes to motive, apparently goes to motive. So that tells us a lot about this person, which is he wants to be associated with this act. He wants the attention that comes from it.

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He's a 30-year-old man from Chicago, Illinois. D.C. police say that having run him through NCIC, the FBI's National Crime Information Center, that they had not had contact with him, at least to the extent that he had been involved in an arrest or any trouble in Washington. Now they'll be backtracking with colleagues in the Chicago PD and the Chicago FBI field office to say, what is the background they have on him? What does he have for family there?

What does he have for friends or employment? How long has he been in Washington? Did he come for this specific purpose? They'll talk to friends, associates, family members, anyone they can find to kind of peel back the layers of how was he acting? Was he stable? What was he talking about? And how was he drawn into this issue?

LEE: And John, what did you make of the chief of police saying that there is a single suspect who is now in custody, and authorities are also saying that there is no active threat at this moment in time? I mean, is that kind of conclusion at this moment in the investigation pretty unusual? And what would authorities have had to learn to come to that conclusion that there was just one single suspect acting alone?

MILLER: Well, MJ, we have to separate two things. One, we are all aware whether it's the law enforcement agencies or even we who report on it, that there has been an increased threat to the Jewish community really going forward from October 7th. You know, if you're in my business and you spend a lot of time monitoring the chatrooms and the platforms that different terrorist organizations use, trying to encourage attacks, calling for blood, you see that threat on a daily basis.

But I think what the chief meant specifically was, as far as this incident goes, we believe that it was carried out by a single suspect, that we have that suspect and his weapon in custody, and we have no reason to believe at this point that he was acting with anyone else, that he was acting alone, and that in that sense, there is no further threat from this incident. On the other hand, you will see in Washington, D.C. by daylight, but especially in New York City and other cities with Jewish communities and locations associated with those communities, embassies, consulates, museums, cultural institutions, you will likely see enhanced police presence until they really get a handle on what are the ripples that come from this.

And that's standard procedure whenever there is a targeted attack against a Jewish location or individuals.

LEE: Yes. Many people across the country will be waking up to this news.

John Miller, thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks, MJ.

LEE: We'll be right back.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

LEE: An update on the deadly shooting outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Authorities say the suspected gunman is now in custody and is believed to be the sole attacker. He's been identified by police as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago. We're told after he was detained, he showed security where he had discarded his weapon and chanted free, free Palestine.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. says the two people killed were a young couple about to be engaged. According to the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, the victims were staff members at the Israeli embassy. The head of the American Jewish Committee said his organization was hosting an event at the museum ahead of the attack.

Joining me now, CNN's senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, thanks for being here. I want to know what stood out to you

from this press conference that we just watched. You know, we know the name now of this single suspect. We know that they are now in custody. We know the weapon of choice. All of this information again was obtained by the authorities that were on the scene. Clearly they are saying that this was a targeted event. This person was there for a reason and that there was clear motivation is what it sounds like.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. I mean, look, of course I have to say we're learning information and this is preliminary, but everything we've heard from official sources is this was an antisemitic attack against an organization, the AJC, that was holding an event. I've talked to -- Ive gotten e-mails from someone who was there. I've talked to someone who was at the event. This is the AJC. It's called the Young Diplomats Event, or Young Dips as one of the people put it is there are many people there that are from a variety of embassies.

So it's sort of a way to get young professionals to -- in the foreign policy and foreign service space to get to know each other. So in many ways it was counter to the hate that would be experienced later that that evening in D.C. So this event is not public in the sense we're just opening our doors, but probably someone who wanted to figure out what was going on with AJC could have probably figured that out. That just goes to premeditation. So now that they have a suspect, the suspect has a motive, a stated motive, of course.

His statement, "free Palestine," has to be read as a -- as a hate statement towards the people who are victims tonight.

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And -- and we'll go into now his digital and social media presence for two reasons. One is, were there hints of radicalization, hints of a hate crime that he wanted to plan? And the second is, was anyone else in on it, and in particular, any foreign influences in terms of radicalization?

I don't know yet. I want to be very clear. This is just what a rational investigation would do at this time, knowing what we know now and knowing what we know about the global environment right now: hate crimes, antisemitism, and a heightened environment politically and globally, because what is going on in Israel and Gaza, we cannot deny that.

And so, what radicalization process occurred that took these young Israeli diplomats' lives, is important for not just for the investigation and their families, but, of course, to understand the radicalization that's happening here domestically in the United States.

M.J. LEE, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: And, Juliette, the fact that this incident happened in the nation's capital in downtown D.C., across the street from the FBI's Washington field office, I mean, what is this going to do to the security measures across D.C.? I mean, this is a city where security measures are already quite tight. KAYYEM: That's right. So -- and we heard a little bit of this from the

D.C. Police chief, the D.C. mayor, and the representative from the FBI. And I think more nationally.

So, look, these are organizations like the AJC, ADL, others that have been targeted, have been facing antisemitism threats and hate crimes, as we know, in the last couple of years. So, there'll be a heightened sense of exposure and vulnerability by them, of course.

And so, I think you'll see a lot of law enforcement -- local, state and federal -- lean in to support them and to give them confidence for a variety of events that may be ongoing right now, or certainly your Friday is -- is the Jewish Sabbath. So -- so there are larger events at synagogues there.

So, I think you're going to see a lot more police presence for the Jewish community nationally. And then in D.C., a much greater D.C., as well as federal presence in particular, where the Israeli embassy, is to protect the Israeli ambassador.

But this was an event that I just want to say, again, the sort of horror of it is this is an event that was bringing lots of young people together whose countries probably disagree on things to try to -- to maybe leave it to the next generation.

So, I think you heard it in the ambassador's voice. The killing of two young Israeli diplomats is just a horrifying, I think, for the community. For all of us.

LEE: Yes. Horrifying is -- is correct. Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

LEE: And a short while ago, the U.S. president weighed in, writing on Truth Social, "These horrible D.C. killings based obviously on antisemitism must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen. God Bless You ALL!"

Our senior U.S. justice correspondent, Evan Perez, was at the news conference authorities held just minutes ago. He joins me now on the phone.

Evan, I was listening to that press conference and heard the questions that you asked, including whether authorities believe the suspect was basically planning to do anything else, and also, whether this is going to be prosecuted as a federal crime. Tell us what you were told.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Right. Well, the -- the first question is, you know, one of the important parts of this is that the -- the police said that the suspect walked in to the -- the museum building where this event was happening and -- and was apprehended by security.

Now, the question is, were they trying to kill additional people? You know, there possibly could have been greater bloodshed, if that was the intent. And so, that was one of the things.

I think it's clear from the response of law enforcement, you know, they're still investigating that. They don't know, at this point, everything that he was planning to do.

But M.J., one of the things that I think is really important is also, you know, if you -- if you look on the website for this event, the -- the AJC, the -- the organization that was holding this event, one of the things you see the listing for this event this evening, and it says, "location provided upon registration."

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And what that indicates is that there were some security precautions being taken for this event. In other words, you -- you know, they didn't just advertise that this was happening where it was happening. You had to register in order to get the location, at least according to the listing I saw on their website.

And that's important, because this person perhaps researched before coming to -- to this location. There's some indication, obviously, that this is -- there's a lot more to this. Right?

So, I think we're going to learn, probably, a lot more from the police in the coming days about the preparation. Obviously, this person's from Chicago. We don't know what any connection to -- to Washington that they have.

And so, that's one of the big concerns is, you know, did he have any -- any help, any associations, anybody -- any organization outside the United States that -- that was involved in this? And it was he -- was he connected to any groups?

Those are the things that the FBI says are at the top of their list for investigating now.

LEE: And, Evan, the fact that we are talking about Israeli embassy staff, the investigation is obviously going to be requiring heavy coordination between U.S. officials and Israeli officials. Do we know what that coordination is going to look like?

PEREZ (via phone): I think you already see it very, very - every indication of that. The Israeli ambassador, I just saw him walk away from the scene. He was here with the attorney general. He was walking from the scene. He was -- was -- he spoke at the -- at the event, as you heard him describe the young couple that were shot and killed.

But he was here. He went back to the scene right at the museum with the attorney general and with the FBI and ATF people who are here. And so, it's clear that they're -- they're going to be coordinating to try to see whether there's any connection that the Israelis might be able to -- to figure out for, for instance, if there's any connections to groups in -- in that region.

So, that's something, obviously, the Israelis would be able to provide. But also, you know, from a -- from a -- from an FBI standpoint, this

-- clearly, they're going to be very, very much involved in this. And the idea that the Joint Terrorism Task Force was here, it tells you a lot about where this is going.

For now, the Metropolitan Police, obviously, they're doing the crime scene work, because this is a murder. Two murders on the streets of Washington. It's not right at an embassy or anything like that.

But the FBI clearly will have to coordinate this with -- with the Israelis and with -- and given the priority this is going to take, obviously.

And also, you know, the bigger question, too, is, you know, how do you improve security for events related to, you know, for example, the Jewish community and the Muslim community? Because one of the things that happens after things like this is that you see people have, you know, terrible ideas to try to follow it up.

LEE: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

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LEE: Back now to our breaking news out of Washington, D.C., where police say two Israeli embassy staffers have been killed in a shooting near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.

Authorities say a suspect is now in custody, and he had been seen pacing outside the museum before that attack. The police chief says the 30-year-old suspect chanted "Free, free Palestine" while they were in custody.

The D.C. mayor has reassured the community that there is no active threat.

CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, joins me now from New York.

John, 9:08 p.m. is when the police chief said they started getting calls about the shooting. So, it's been now just over three hours.

I know you were closely watching that press conference, where we got some preliminary information about the two victims; the suspect, who is in custody.

Walk us through, in detail, the process now that is going to be unfolding, of reconstructing what happened and the information gathering.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, they'll begin with the suspect they have in custody. Is he willing to talk to them? Is he willing to share information? Is he willing to talk about what brought him to this moment, which he is alleged to be behind, this double murder and this -- and this targeted shooting?

In the meantime, they'll also be trying to reconstruct his movements, regardless of whether he talks or not, which means they're going to look for how did he get to Washington? When did he get to Washington? Where did he stay in Washington? Let's get a search warrant for that hotel room, that friend's room, that house, wherever he bedded down if he was there before today for this event.

Where is his car? Locate that vehicle. Obtain a search warrant for that vehicle. Before you go and search that vehicle, if they go by the book, they'll get the bomb squad and bomb squad K-9 to sweep that vehicle to make sure that isn't booby-trapped or some second step in some larger plan.

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They will go into his social media. They will go back through his social media to determine who are his social media friends. They'll want to contact friends and relatives and find out what they can about him.

But basically, they will be walking backwards, first through the events of tonight, to see how far they can trace him from the moment he got to Washington, and then before. And then they will be walking forward to figure out what they can learn from his phone, if he had a phone with him. If he didn't, where is it? From his computer, from -- from his digital trail. There's so much work to be done.

And yet when you think, M.J., of the attempted assassinations against President Trump, where they went through the very same steps with the individuals involved in those two acts, or if you look at what we just saw back in April with the -- the Passover attack, where an individual scaled the fence, got into the governor of Pennsylvania's house, a former vice-presidential possibility in the last election, and nearly burned it down, with the governor and his family sleeping upstairs.

They went back through -- through -- through his claims of -- of doing that also, potentially, for Palestine.

And, you know, you're going to get two or three kinds of individuals. You may get a committed terrorist. You may get an individual who is mentally unstable. That's why they really need to do all of this background and, of course, to make sure that there is no one else behind this or no group associated with it.

LEE: And John, when we spoke earlier, you said, you know, it kind of goes without saying that security measures are going to be more heightened here in Washington, D.C., again, just to remind everyone, you know, this is an event that happened across the street from the FBI field office.

Obviously, the fact that this is happening in the nation's capital, we are going to see what kinds of new measures are going to be put in place.

John Miller, thank you so much for joining us. MILLER: Thanks, M.J.

LEE: We'll be right back.

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LEE: And let's get you up to -- up to date on the breaking news here in Washington.

Two staffers at the Israeli embassy have been shot and killed near the Capital Jewish Museum. Police say a suspect who chanted "Free, free Palestine" after the shooting is now in custody.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. says the victims were a young couple. President Trump posted his condolences to the victims' families on social media. He says the killings are "obviously based on antisemitism, which must end NOW!"

CNN's Gabe Cohen joins me now on the phone.

Gabe, we are without a doubt going to spend a lot of time discussing Elias Rodriguez -- this is the named suspect -- his motives, his background, how he did what he did. But I know you were watching that press conference, too.

Let's talk about the two victims and what the Israeli ambassador told us about them. They were a couple that was set to -- set to get engaged.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Yes. And M.J., I'll tell you about that in a moment. I do want to mention something about that 30-year-old, Elias Rodriguez, who is the lone suspect in this shooting, from Chicago, Illinois.

We heard during the press conference that he was seen pacing back and forth outside of the museum just before the shooting and just moments later, approached a group of four people who were leaving the museum and then fired those shots, killed a man and woman, assumed to be engaged couple, as you mentioned, then entered the museum and was detained.

Well, in just in the last few minutes, we've gotten an eyewitness testimony that's telling our CNN team that the shooter and the suspect in this case pretended to be a witness in those minutes after the shooting, after he entered the museum. And he actually waited for police to arrive for more than ten minutes before eventually -- eventually claiming that he had committed the shooting.

We know that this witness at the scene is telling us that people inside the museum heard shots. Then they saw a man come running into the center. They -- this person said security guards offered the man water. They were trying to comfort him. He was acting a bit erratic. They figured he had witnessed the shooting. It wasn't until minutes later, when police arrived -- and by the way,

according to this witness, that man actually asked security to call the police. And when those officers arrived about ten minutes later, the man took accountability for the shooting and said that he had done it, and that he had done it for Gaza. And as the police chief mentioned, he later said, "Free Palestine, free, free Palestine."

So, those are obviously very profound details that -- that are coming out now in this early hour of the morning.

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And you also asked about this couple, because we heard the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. talk about them. They were employees of the Israeli embassy, a couple that was soon to be engaged. They expected that the man had bought a ring and was going to propose in Jerusalem -- in Jerusalem, in the next week or so.

So, it really is this tragic story.

And obviously, the -- there are a lot of investigative strands and details that still need to come out here. But I was really struck in that press conference, listening to the tone and the language of D.C.'s mayor and police chief.

Because this is a city and an administration that obviously deals with a lot of contentious political issues, a lot of protests, and they tend to be very careful about their language, to not speak too quickly, not get ahead of -- of the actual facts of a case.

And yet, we heard the mayor, right at the start of the press conference, come out and say that this was going to be an incident that would frighten people in the nation's capital and across the country.

And she was quick to say that this city is not going to tolerate violence or hate or acts of terror or antisemitism. Those were specific words that she used, which spoke to the early details in this case.

And we know that the FBI is looking into potential ties to terrorism and a hate crime. But of course, M.J., we will see what comes out of that investigation, in these coming days.

LEE: All right. Thank you, CNN's Gabe Cohen, for those additional details.

And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm M.J. Lee. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a quick break.

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