WASHINGTON—Two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed near a Jewish museum in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem .

“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share. Please pray for the families of the victims,” Noem wrote on social media . “We will bring this depraved perpetrator to justice.”

Tal Naim Cohen, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy, said in a statement that two embassy staff members “were shot this evening at close range.”

On Wednesday evening, local police said they were investigating a shooting in the area of 3rd Street and F Street Northwest in Washington, near the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. The museum focuses on Jewish life in the Washington region, according to its website.

Emergency personnel work at the site where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The museum was hosting a “Young Diplomats Reception” on Wednesday night with the American Jewish Committee. “This special event brings together Jewish young professionals and the D.C. diplomatic community for an evening dedicated to fostering unity and celebrating Jewish heritage,” according to an invitation for the event.

“The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C…is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” Danny Danon , Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, said in a post on X .

“Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” Danon added.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement : “We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue.”

The museum recently reported security concerns and was the recipient of a grant to offset security costs, according to NBC4 Washington .

“Jewish institutions all around town, all around the country, are concerned about security due to some very scary incidents that some institutions have faced and because of a climate of antisemitism,” the museum’s executive director, Beatrice Gurwitz, told NBC4 in a story published earlier this week.

A man speaks to an emergency personnel working at the site where, according to the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X: “I am on the scene of the horrible shooting outside the Washington, DC Capital Jewish Museum…. Praying for the victims of this violence as we work to learn more.”

White House officials said they were monitoring the shooting. The FBI was working with local police to “respond and learn more,” said the bureau’s director, Kash Patel . FBI officials said there was no ongoing threat to public safety.

Yellow police tape walled off the scene of the shooting, while police cars lined the area nearby.

Write to Meridith McGraw at [email protected] , Olivia Beavers at [email protected] and Sadie Gurman at [email protected]