WASHINGTON >> In the years before he was accused of killing two Israeli Embassy employees, the suspect in the fatal shootings was an active participant in Chicago’s left-wing protest scene, speaking out against police violence and a proposed Amazon headquarters. Then the war in Gaza ignited his fury into violence.

Elias Rodriguez, 31, was charged Thursday with the murder of foreign officials and other crimes in connection with the deaths of Israeli citizen Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, an American, as they left an event at a Jewish museum. The couple had plans to become engaged.

He told police after his arrest, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to court filings.

Rodriguez lived in a modest 850-square-foot apartment on Chicago’s north side and worked as an administrative assistant at a medical trade group. He had no apparent criminal record.

In his activism, he protested police violence against minorities and the power of corporations. His online posts had recently become fixated on the war in Gaza, calling for retaliation against Israel.