Two staff members at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, have been shot dead near a Jewish museum, with a suspect in custody.

“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a post on X.

“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share.”

Speaking at a news conference, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said law enforcement believes the shooting was conducted by a single suspect who is now in custody.

The suspect, who Smith named as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, “was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum” before he “approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire striking both of our decedents,” she said.

After the shooting, Smith said that the suspect then entered the museum and was detained by event security.

Once handcuffed, he told security where he had discarded the weapon, which was recovered by authorities.

The suspect chanted “Free, Free Palestine” while in custody, Smith said.

The victims were a “young couple about to be engaged,” Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the US, said at the news conference.

“A young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem.”

Tal Naim Cohen, a spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy, said in a statement that two staff members were shot “at close range” while attending a Jewish event at the museum.

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 an earlier post on social media that she and acting US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro had arrived at the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum.

At the news conference following the shooting, Bondi said she had spoken with President Donald Trump multiple times that evening.

Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said his organisation 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.”

US and Israeli officials expressed outrage and offered their condolences for the families of the victims following the shooting.

“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,” Trump wrote on social media.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the US and Israel “will stand united in defence of our people and our shared values” following the attack.

“I am devastated by the scenes in Washington DC,” he said in a statement on X.

“This is a despicable act of hatred, of antisemitism, which has claimed the lives of two young employees of the Israeli embassy.”