The shooting has sparked outrage and has been condemned as an "unspeakable" act of antisemitism after officials said the suspect, who is in custody, shouted "free, free Palestine" following the shooting.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were identified by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar as the victims during a press conference on Thursday morning.

He said the pair were attending a Jewish conference of the American Jewish Committee when they were gunned down "in a horrific terrorist attack."

"This is the direct result of toxic anti-Semitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the October 7th massacre," Sa'ar added. "I have been worried for the past few months that something like this would happen. And it did."

An official with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to reporters during the presser that Lischinsky and Milgrim were not diplomats but embassy staff. Lischinsky was a researcher in the political department of the Israeli Embassy, while Milgrim organized U.S. missions to Israel.

The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, was promptly taken into custody at the scene and is being questioned by police, D.C. Metro Police Chief Pamela Smith said.

The FBI said on Thursday it was conducting "court authorized activity" at a home in Chicago that is believed to be related to the suspect in the shooting.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the early indicators point to the shooting being a "targeted attack."

"The US Attorney’s office is on scene with me, and our WFO management team, at the Washington Field Office reviewing the evidence to determine additional actions," Bongino said. "The shooting happened a short distance from our Washington Field Office. Our FBI police officer, assigned to the external post on the WFO property, immediately responded and rendered aid after the attack. Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence. Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads."