“Two Israeli Embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” Noem said in a post on X.

“We are actively investigating and working to get more information to share.”

According to sources knowledgeable about the incident and a law enforcement contact, two individuals associated with the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were shot on Wednesday night near the Capital Jewish Museum.

Another law enforcement source told CNN that two people were killed.

DC Police said its investigating a shooting across the street from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which is located near the museum.

The Israeli embassy is working with law enforcement.

The Israeli ambassador was not involved in the incident and was not at the location when the shooting happened, an embassy spokesperson told CNN.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi shared on social media that she, along with acting US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, have arrived at the scene of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum.

Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said his organisation was hosting an event at the museum on Wednesday evening.

“We are devastated that an unspeakable act of violence took place outside the venue,” he said in a statement.

“At this moment, as we await more information from the police about exactly what transpired, our attention and our hearts are solely with those who were harmed and their families.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon reacted to media reports of the shooting on Wednesday, saying in a statement on X, “The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC – in which Israeli embassy employees were also injured – is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

Police are advising people to avoid the area in Northwest DC.