A horrific shooting on Wednesday evening, May 21, at a Jewish function in Washington, D.C. took the lives of two Israeli Embassy employees. Suspect Elias Rodriguez of Chicago is said to have made a stunning admission just moments after committing the crime.
Witness Reveals Yoni’s Confession
Yoni Kalin, who was at the event, recounted the terrifying ordeal for Fox 5 DC. “The security guard happened to let this guy in,” he said. “I guess they were considering that he was a victim, and he was soaked in rain. He was obviously in trauma. He was in shock.”
The suspect seemed to be distressed at first, so people who were attending the event brought him water and comfort. “Some of the folks at the event gave him water. They sat him down. ‘Are you alright? Were you shot? What did happen?’ And he’s like, ‘Get the cops, bring the cops in.’
About 10 minutes later, police arrived at the scene. “When the cops actually came in, he said, ‘I did this.’ He said, ‘Sir, I’m unarmed’, Yoni recalled.
The Red Keffiyeh and a Chant
The mood changed instantly when the man confessed to the offense. “He put his, put his hands up, he took out a red keffiyeh from his pocket and began the ‘Free Palestine’ chant,” Yoni continued. As they led the man away, he kept yelling “Free Palestine.”
“I attempted to return his keffiyeh to him because I wasn’t really aware that he killed two people,” Yoni confessed, looking back on the surreal events after the confession.
The event itself was meant to be a bridge-building experience among communities, specifically to find ways to assist individuals in Gaza. JoJo Kalin, a member of the board at the American Jewish Committee and an organizer, had this to say about the tragic irony of the situation:.
I’m not going to lose my humanity over this or be deterred,” JoJo declared. “And that Israelis and Palestinians both still deserve self determination and [it is] just deeply ironic that that’s what we were discussing. It was bridge building and then we were all hit over the hide with such hatred.
