2 Israeli embassy staffers shot dead in Washington

KABUL (Pajhwok): Two Israeli embassy staff members -- a “young couple about to be engaged --have been killed in an overnight shooting in Washington.

CNN reported police had arrested a suspect identified as Elias Rodriguez, who chanted “Free Palestine” and pretended to be a witness.

In a social media post, US President Donald Trump sent his condolences to the families of the victims. Hatred and radicalism had no place in the US, he wrote.

The embassy staffers were killed while leaving an event focused on helping Gazans at the Capital Jewish Museum, the BBC quoted organisers as saying.

After being taken into custody, the suspected killer shouted "free Palestine" and that he did it for Gaza.

Emergency vehicles rushed to the scene guarded by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.

Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, told reporters: “The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem.”

PAN Monitor/mud