Minnesota lawmakers targeted in political shooting rampage; Suspect captured
Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. Hoffman wounded in political shooting; suspect Vance Boelter caught after statewide manhunt and found with hit list.
A politically motivated shooting spree has rocked Minnesota, leaving two people dead and two wounded, including prominent state lawmakers. Authorities say the attacker, disguised as a police officer, carried out targeted assaults on Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman, triggering one of the largest manhunts in state history.
The violence began around 2 a.m. Saturday when a masked man approached Sen. John Hoffman’s home in Champlin and opened fire, wounding both Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. She reportedly shielded their daughter from gunfire. Roughly 90 minutes later, officers responding to the attack on Hoffman made a chilling discovery at the Brooklyn Park home of Rep. Hortman.
Police arrived to find a fake patrol car in the driveway and a man dressed in a police uniform at the door. The suspect, later identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, had already fatally shot Hortman’s husband, Mark, and would soon engage police in a brief gunfight before disappearing.
Officers used a drone to search the home and discovered Rep. Hortman, a high-ranking Democrat and former House Speaker, dead inside. Authorities later found Boelter’s vehicle nearby, which contained assault weapons, a false badge, and a hit list naming nearly 70 people – most affiliated with Democratic politics or abortion rights groups.
Governor Tim Walz condemned the acts as “a politically motivated assassination,” calling for unity and a rejection of violence. “We don’t settle our differences with bullets,” he stated.
Aided by the FBI and multiple law enforcement agencies, the statewide manhunt ended 43 hours later in the woods of Sibley County. Boelter, a former security company employee with access to tactical gear, was arrested without further incident.
Investigators uncovered fliers reading “No Kings” in Boelter’s vehicle – a phrase linked to recent anti-Trump demonstrations – prompting fears of broader threats and event cancellations across Minnesota.
Though acquaintances described Boelter as a devout Christian and anti-abortion advocate, authorities say the evidence points to a premeditated and politically motivated attack. He now faces multiple charges, and the investigation continues into what could have been a much larger tragedy.
