Israeli couple shot dead in Washington DC named - as attack condemned

Two Israeli embassy workers killed by a gunman in Washington DC last night have been identified as a couple who were about to be engaged.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgram were shot dead as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in the US capital.

The suspect, who shot at a group of four people just over a mile from the White House, chanted a pro-Palestinian slogan in custody.

Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, said the man killed had "purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem".

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Israel's embassy in the US has shared an image of the two victims of the Washington shooting, naming them as Yaron and Sarah.
@IsraelinUSA
Image: The victims have been named as Sarah Lynn Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky

The reaction to the shooting has been one of shock, with President Donald Trump condemning the "horrible killings" which he said were "based obviously on antisemitism".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his heart ached for the families of the victims, "whose lives were cut
short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer".

Jojo Drake Kalin, the organiser of the museum event, spoke to Sky News about her encounter with the suspect..

"I actually offered and gave him water - I was actually looking evil in the eye."

"After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security," Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said.

"Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence."

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After being taken into custody he was filmed chanting: "Free Palestine, Free Palestine".