WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chicago man charged in connection with the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. last May wore a body camera during the attack, according to new court documents.
What we know:
Prosecutors argued that the suspect, Elias Rodriguez, purchasing the body camera just days before the shooting “underscores that he premeditated carrying out an act of violence.”
Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murder of foreign officials and federal hate crimes among other charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26.
The victims were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21 when Rodriguez allegedly approached their group and opened fire. Prosecutors said the shooting was captured on video.
Rodriguez went inside the museum and said “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.”
It was later discovered that Rodriguez had worn a KaySunLink camera which recorded video and audio of the shooting “from a first-person perspective,” according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez purchased the camera while he was still in Chicago on May 18, just days before the shooting, according to Amazon records, and arranged for it to be delivered to his hotel in Washington, D.C.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that Milgrim was an American employee of the embassy and Lischinsky was Israeli. The couple were preparing to get engaged.
Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
