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Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old Chicago man, is facing federal charges in the fatal shootings of a young couple Wednesday evening near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.
With the investigation in its early stages, here's what we know about the suspected shooter.
Authorities are working to authenticate an online document that appeared to belong to Rodriguez
Law enforcement officials were reviewing a document posted on social media about an hour after the shootings by an X account appearing to belong to the accused gunman, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.
Officials had not publicly confirmed as of Thursday afternoon that the document was written by Rodriguez, who is in custody.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in an X post Thursday that authorities are working to confirm that "certain writings" are linked to Rodriguez - an apparent reference to the document. The document, titled "Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home," accuses Israel of "genocide" and says "a perpetrator" may be a good person at times, "and yet be a monster all the same."
The message concludes, "Free Palestine - Elias Rodriguez."
Rodriguez worked for the American Osteopathic Information Association
The American Osteopathic Information Association, which does advocacy and provides resources for the osteopathic profession, confirmed Thursday that Rodriguez was an employee.
"As a physician organization dedicated to protecting the health and sanctity of human life, we believe in the rights of all persons to live safely without fear of violence," the group said in a statement. "In this time of grief, we extend our deepest sympathy to the victims' loved ones and all others impacted by this act of violence."
A LinkedIn profile that appeared to belong to Rodriguez listed his role as an administrative specialist since July. It said he previously worked as a production and logistics coordinator and oral history researcher for the HistoryMakers, a nonprofit aimed at preserving the stories of African Americans. A call to the group's executive director was not immediately returned Thursday.
A profile that has since been removed from HistoryMakers' website said Rodriguez was born and raised in Chicago, had worked as a content writer, and held an English degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. A person whose name and year of birth matched that of the suspect attended the University of Illinois Chicago from fall 2016 to spring 2018, earning a bachelor of arts in English, university spokesman Brian Flood said.
A window in Rodriguez's apartment displayed a sign demanding justice for a murdered Palestinian American child.
In the window of a unit where Rodriguez is believed to live hung a faded sign that read "Justice for Wadea" - an apparent reference to the 2023 murder of Wadea Alfayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois who was stabbed to death by his landlord in 2023. A neighbor identified the unit as belonging to Rodriguez.
FBI agents on Thursday surrounded the building, a brick, multiunit complex 0n a leafy, quiet block in the East Albany Park neighborhood on the city's northwest side. An agent blocked off the entrance to the building with yellow crime-scene tape.
A resident, John Wayne Fry, sounded astonished that the seemingly quiet and friendly man he recognized from the hallways and mail room was suspected in the embassy shootings. As he walked back from a corner grocery store toward the apartment building where he said the suspected shooter lived next door, his voice grew emotional at times.
"It's like, what would cause a decent human being to do something crazy? What causes this?" said Fry, 71. "Because it shocked me when I heard the shooter was from Chicago. But to have it be my next door neighbor?"
He said he never talked politics with Rodriguez, adding, "I regret that I never had a conversation." He said he would have tried to talk him out of any violent action.
"As you can see, I'm an old man," Fry said. "I learned during the Vietnam War you don't stop war with guns and bombs; you stop wars by talking with your neighbors."
Rodriguez was previously associated with the far-left Party for Socialism and Liberation
Rodriguez was at one time affiliated with the far-left Party for Socialism and Liberation, though the group distanced itself from him after his arrest, saying in a post on X that he is not a member and had only "a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017."
"We know of no contact with him in over 7 years," the group said in the post. "We have nothing to do with this shooting and do not support it."
A 2017 article in Liberation, a newspaper associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said an Elias Rodriguez who belonged to the group gave a speech at a protest against the police shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago.
The demonstration, held outside then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel's house, also targeted the city's bid to host Amazon's headquarters.
The article, which appeared to have been deleted Thursday, quoted Rodriguez as asking whether Americans want "a nation of cities dominated and occupied by massive corporations where only the rich and white can live and the vast majority of us must live on edges of the city and society."