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Hundreds of law officers fanned out across a Minneapolis suburb Saturday in pursuit of a man who authorities say posed as a police officer and fatally shot a Democratic state lawmaker in her home in what Gov. Tim Walz called \u201ca politically motivated assassination.\u201d Authorities said the suspect also shot and wounded a second lawmaker and was believed to be trying to flee the area.<\/p>\n
Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address, about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.<\/p>\n
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at an afternoon news conference that authorities were looking for 57-year-old Vance Boelter and he had not yet been caught.<\/p>\n
Authorities displayed a photo of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat that was taken Saturday and asked the public to report sightings. Evans said investigators obtained video as well.<\/p>\n
He did not give details on a possible motive.<\/p>\n
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, state records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.<\/p>\n
The early morning attacks prompted warnings to other elected officials around the state and the cancellation of planned \u201cNo Kings\u201d demonstrations against President Donald Trump. Authorities said the suspect had \u201cNo Kings\u201d flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.<\/p>\n
A Minnesota official told The Associated Press that the suspect\u2019s writings also contained information targeting prominent lawmakers who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.<\/p>\n
The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide<\/a> have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,\u201d Walz, a Democrat, said at a news conference. \u201cThose responsible for this will be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect\u2019s vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol, a person familiar with the matter told AP. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Minnesota state Sen. John A. Hoffman and Rep. Melissa Hortman.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans\u2019 home shortly after 2 a.m., Champlin police said, and found the lawmaker and his wife, Yvette, with multiple gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to check on Hortman\u2019s home, where they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door, leaving the house.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home\u201d and escaped, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.<\/p>\n Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the front door of Hoffman\u2019s home.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!\u201d<\/p>\n Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, \u201cPolitical violence is always unacceptable. This is a horrifying day for Minnesota, and a sad day for America. What has occurred is a direct attack on our American values and democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI remain in close touch with Illinois State Police and all four leaders of the Illinois General Assembly as we monitor the situation in Minnesota,\u201d Pritzker said.<\/p>\n Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led House Democrats in a three-week walkout<\/a> at the beginning of this year\u2019s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to the top Republican, Rep. Lisa Demuth, and assumed the title speaker emerita.<\/p>\n Walz described her as a \u201cformidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota every day, determined to make this state a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is irreplaceable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hortman and her husband had two adult children.<\/p>\n Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and played a key role as chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one daughter.<\/p>\n State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic asked people \u201cout of an abundance of caution\u201d not to attend any of the \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests that were scheduled for across the state on Saturday. Bogojevic said authorities didn\u2019t have any direct evidence that the protests would be targeted, but said the suspect had some \u201cNo Kings\u201d flyers in their car. Organizers announced that all of the protests across the state were canceled.<\/p>\n Boelter was appointed to the workforce development board by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 and then reappointed in 2019 by the current governor to a four-year term that expired in 2023, state records show.<\/p>\n State corporate records show Boelter\u2019s wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC with the same Green Isle mailing address listed for the couple. On a website for the business, Boelter\u2019s wife is listed as the president and CEO while he is listed as the director of security patrols.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s homepage says it provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle, with a light bar across the roof and \u201cPraetorian\u201d painted across the doors. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest with the company\u2019s name across the front.<\/p>\n An online resume says he is a security contractor who has worked oversees in the Middle East and Africa, in addition to past managerial roles at companies in Minnesota.<\/p>\n Hours after the shootings, hundreds of police and sheriff deputies from departments in the region, some in tactical gear with assault-style weapons were scattered through the town.<\/p>\n An alert sent to people\u2019s cellphones asked residents to continue sheltering in place as police were still looking for a suspect \u201cwho is armed and dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuspect is white male, brown hair, wearing black body armor over blue shirt and blue pants and may misrepresent himself as law enforcement. Do not approach. Call 911,\u201d the alert said.<\/p>\n Some roadblocks had been set up in which authorities stopped and checked vehicles.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is crazy, someone going after representatives. This is wrong. I\u2019m hoping they\u2019ll catch them,\u201d said Brooklyn Park resident Douglas Thompson, 62, adding he wasn\u2019t worried and believed authorities would catch the suspect.<\/p>\n Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack \u201cevil\u201d and said she was \u201cheartbroken beyond words\u201d by the killings of Hortman and her husband, Mark.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the law enforcement response ongoing and details still emerging, I will simply ask all Minnesotans to please lift up in prayer the victims of this horrific attack, as well as the law enforcement personnel still working to apprehend the perpetrator,\u201d Demuth said in a statement.<\/p>\n The shootings are the latest in a series of violent attacks against lawmakers across parties in recent years.<\/p>\n In April, a suspect set fire to the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro,<\/a> forcing him and his family to flee the building during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspect told law enforcement that he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him, according to court documents.<\/p>\n In July 2024, the Republican Trump was grazed on the ear<\/a> by one of a hail of bullets that killed a Trump supporter. Two months later, a man with a rifle was discovered in some shrubbery near the president\u2019s golf course<\/a> in Florida and arrested by Secret Service agents.<\/p>\n Other high profile attacks in recent years have included a 2022 hammer attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi<\/a> inside their San Francisco home, and a 2020 plot by anti-government extremists to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer<\/a> at her vacation home and start a civil war.<\/p>\n Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Saturday that he has asked Capitol Police to \u201cimmediately increase security\u201d for Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats.<\/p>\n Schumer said he had also asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, to hold a briefing for senators on member security.<\/p>\n \u201cCondemning violence is important but it is not enough,\u201d Schumer said in a post on X. \u201cWe must also confront the toxic forces radicalizing individuals and we must do more to protect one another, our democracy, and the values that bind us as Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAn overnight shooting<\/h3>\n
Two Democratic lawmakers targeted<\/h3>\n
The suspect<\/h3>\n
Massive search effort underway<\/h3>\n
Political violence<\/h3>\n