A man and a woman were shot and killed in the area of 3rd and F streets in Northwest which is near the museum, an FBI field office and the US attorney’s office, according to the reports.

“Two Israeli embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC,” homeland security secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X.

FBI director Kash Patel said he and his team had been briefed on the shooting.

“While we’re working with [Metropolitan Police Department] to respond and learn more, in the immediate, please pray for the victims and their families,” he wrote on X.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting “a depraved act of antisemitic terrorism”.

“Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” Danon said in a post on X.

“We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act.”

Attorney-general Pam Bondi and US attorney for the district of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were on the scene of the shooting.

The Metropolitan police department declined to comment, saying a press conference would be held shortly.