CNN — Two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were killed Wednesday night near the Capital Jewish Museum, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said.
“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Noem said in a post on X. “We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share.”
According to report by CNN, Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy, said in a statement, “Two staff members of the Israeli embassy were shot this evening at close range while attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum.”
DC Police and the FBI are responding to the shooting, and the Israeli Embassy is working with law enforcement.
“There is no ongoing threat to public safety,” the FBI Washington Field Office said in a post on X.
The Israeli ambassador was not involved in the incident and was not at the location when the shooting happened, an embassy spokesperson told CNN.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on social media that she and acting US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro have arrived to the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said his organization was hosting an event at the museum on Wednesday evening.
“We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,” he said in a statement. “At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon reacted to media reports of the shooting on Wednesday, saying in a statement on X, “The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC – in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured – is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”
Police are advising people to avoid the area in Northwest DC.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
SOURCE: CNN.
Comment here
You must be logged in to post a comment.