Wednesday night’s high-profile double homicide outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. may be exploited by the gun prohibition lobby but the bottom line is that it underscores the common denominator of all such crimes: Dangerous, determined people ignore even the strictest gun control laws.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago, has been charged with first-degree murder, murdering foreign officials, and using a firearm during a violent crime. He could face the death penalty, according to CNN. Several gun control laws were clearly violated.
Everytown for Gun Safety didn’t waste time, publishing a series of quotes from anti-gun activists including Constance Freeman, a volunteer with the D.C. chapter of Moms Demand Action: “The devastating combination of hate and access to guns has led to two young people losing a future full of hope and love.”
Not a peep about how the suspect clearly violated several existing gun laws when he gunned down the two Israeli Embassy staffers, identified by Fox News as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
According to Fox News, authorities recovered the gun allegedly used in the double slaying.
As noted by NPR, after the suspect fatally shot the couple, he entered the museum and was detained by event security. He repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine.” The ongoing investigation is looking at any potential links to terrorism, and is also whether this was a hate crime, NPR said.
No details about the gun have yet been released, but it would not be legal for Rodriguez to legally carry and conceal the pistol without the required permit, and he is not likely to have had such a permit. The District’s gun policies are among the strictest in the country and the suspect is not a resident.
