A Democratic state legislator and her husband were fatally shot in their Minnesota home early Saturday in what authorities called a politically motivated assassination. Another Democratic lawmaker and his wife were also shot and injured in a separate attack, prompting an intensive manhunt for the suspect.
Authorities identified the gunman as Vance Boelter, 57, who is accused of killing former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their Brooklyn Park residence before attacking State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in Champlin, about 9 miles away.
Boelter was impersonating a police officer and is believed to have fired at responding officers during his escape, according to The Associated Press.
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A photo released by authorities shows Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat, captured on surveillance footage in Minneapolis shortly after the shootings.
Investigators said they recovered a ballistic vest and a rubber mask believed to have been used in the attacks.
A federal law enforcement official said a search of the suspect’s car yielded a manifesto and a list of about 70 potential targets, including public officials, health care providers and Planned Parenthood clinics, some located outside Minnesota, The New York Times reported.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz called the shootings “an act of targeted political violence.” He said law enforcement was actively contacting those named on the target list.
Boelter, who remains at large, served on a state workforce development board alongside Hoffman and is listed as director of security patrols at a private Minnesota-based company. The firm’s website notes that its vehicles resemble those used by police departments across the country.
The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Boelter’s arrest and conviction.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said video footage had been secured, though details about a possible motive were not disclosed.
Officials said flyers bearing the phrase “No Kings” and writings referencing the victims were found in the suspect’s car.
Melissa Hortman, 53, had served as speaker of the Minnesota House for six years before stepping down earlier this year. During her tenure, she played a key role in advancing legislation to protect abortion, as well as marijuana legalization and paid medical leave.
Her husband, Mark, was not a public official.
Senator Hoffman, a fourth-term legislator representing Champlin, chairs the Senate’s Human Services Committee. He and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times in their home. Both underwent surgery and remained hospitalized Saturday night.
Hoffman was struck six times and his wife five times, their nephew, Mat Ollig, said in a Facebook post.
Ollig also wrote that Yvette Hoffman had shielded her adult daughter during the attack by throwing herself on top of her. Yvette, a former radio host known professionally as Kelly Foxx in the 1980s and ’90s, later became known for her advocacy on behalf of children with disabilities, particularly her daughter, who was born with spina bifida.
Julie Blaha, Minnesota’s state auditor and a former teacher, recalled how Yvette and her husband became strong supporters of LGBT ideology during a legal case involving the Anoka-Hennepin School District in 2011. At the time, the district faced federal scrutiny over its handling of discrimination complaints and was placed under a 2012 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The attacks on the Minnesota lawmakers occurred as protests against President Donald Trump’s military deployments were taking place in cities across the country to stave off violent protests. Some demonstrations were canceled in Minnesota due to safety concerns after the shootings.
The killings prompted bipartisan condemnation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called the shootings “an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy.”
Trump, 79, attended a parade in Washington, D.C., to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary and his own birthday. He said, “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated,” as reported by the NY Times.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., spoke at a Democratic gathering in Wisconsin where he urged Americans to resist the rhetoric of division.
