The US on Wednesday brought federal hate crime charges against the suspect accused of fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a museum in Washington in May, court papers showed.
The Justice Department said it would seek hate crime charges and the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, who fatally shot two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News earlier on Wednesday.
The nine-count indictment returned against Rodriguez accuses him of carrying out a hate crime resulting in death motivated by the "actual and perceived national origin of any person." He also faces charges of first-degree murder and murder of a foreign official.
Rodriguez was accused of fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a young couple who both worked for the Israeli embassy in the United States. The pair were about to be engaged, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.
Lischinsky and Milgram were leaving a May 21 event for young professionals and diplomats at the Capital Jewish Museum, hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
At the time of his arrest, Interim DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said that the charges were initial.
"A young couple at the beginning of their life's journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore," Pirro said, as reported by ABC News. "Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation's capital."
ABC reported that in order to secure hate crime charges, prosecutors would need to provide evidence that his actions were antisemitic and not just borne out of hatred for the Israel-Hamas War.
'Heartbroken and devastated by their murder'
The Israeli Embassy released a statement that read: “Yaron and Sarah were our friends and colleagues. They were in the prime of their lives. The entire embassy staff is heartbroken and devastated by their 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.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also responded to the shooting, saying in a statement, “Yaron and Sarah weren’t the victims of a random crime. The terrorist who cruelly gunned them down did so for one reason and one reason alone – he wanted to kill Jews.”
This is a developing story.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.