Rodriguez, 30, has been hit with a slew of charges including two counts of first-degree murder, was seen on surveillance video shooting Sarah Milgrim, 26, and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, 28, leading them to collapse outside the Capital Jewish Museum as they were leaving a function, the affidavit showed. The couple was set to get engaged next week and Lischinsky had just bought the ring with which he intended to propose.
"Rodriguez is captured on the video extending both his arms in the direction of the decedents and firing several times, as indicated by the muzzle flashes. Once the decedents fell to the ground, Rodriguez is captured on the video advancing closer to the decedents, leaning over with them with his arm extended, and firing several more times. As Decedent-1 (Milgrim) attempted to crawl away from Rodriguez, he followed behind her and fired again," the charging documents recounted.
"After a brief moment, Rodriguez appeared to reload his firearm. At the same time, Decedent-1 sat up. Once he reloaded, Rodriguez fired several times at Decedent-1 (Milgrim)," it adds, not allowing for the woman to escape the shooting with her life. The suspect then jogged off from the scene.
When he was taken into custody, Rodriguez shouted "free Palestine" multiple times. Police Chief Pamela Smith said that after he was placed into custody, Rodriguez "identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offense." When he flew from Chicago to DC, he had declared that he had a firearm in his checked luggage.
Rodriguez has a history of engaging in left-wing activism and was identified as being part of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a far-left group that has consistently organized anti-Israel demonstrations.
He has also reportedly shown support for Hamas as well as Luigi Mangione, the man on trial for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
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