In what authorities are calling a “politically motivated assassination,” two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and their families were targeted in coordinated home invasions early Saturday morning, leaving two dead and two others hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
According to law enforcement, the attacks occurred just hours apart in neighboring Twin Cities suburbs. In both cases, the suspect was dressed as a police officer and appeared to be using a fake squad car, raising fears of a calculated plot targeting elected officials.
Former Speaker of the Minnesota House, Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Gov. Tim Walz confirmed the deaths in a press conference Saturday morning and called the incident a politically driven act of violence:
Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed Saturday morning at their home in Brooklyn Park in what Gov. Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination.”During a news conference Saturday morning, the governor also confirmed that DFL State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot multiple times at their home in Champlin. A nephew of the couple said on social media that they were each shot five or six times.…“Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the state of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service,” Walz said. “She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.”
A timeline released by police reveals that the shootings occurred in quick succession and are connected:
“Law enforcement responded to a shooting at Hoffman’s home in Champlin at 2 a.m. where he and his wife had been shot multiple times. Officers then conducted a welfare check at Speaker Hortman’s residence in Brooklyn Park at around 3:35 a.m. and saw what appeared to be a police officer and a squad car outside. When they confronted the person, the suspect opened fire on them and police returned fire before the suspect fled the scene.”
Listen to how the police chief describes the exchange at the representative’s house:
Police reportedly have identified a suspect, but there is no official confirmation yet as to his identity or motive. This is a continually updating story.
UPDATE:
The suspect has reportedly been identified as s 57-year-old Vance Boelter.
KSTP has more:
Authorities say the suspect sought in connection with the shootings of state lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman is 57-year-old Vance Boelter, sources confirmed to the Associated Press.Documents obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS show Boelter, whose current address is listed in Green Isle, Minnesota, was twice appointed to the nonpartisan Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016 under former Gov. Mark Dayton and again in 2019 under Gov. Tim Walz. His most recent term expired in January 2023.
UPDATE:
According to released photos, the suspect was wearing a latex mask:
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