The man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers, killing one of them, has been taken into custody, a law enforcement official said.
Vance Boelter was arrested Sunday evening. The arrest was confirmed to The Associated Press by a law enforcement official who not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about nine miles (15 kilometres) away.
Earlier Sunday, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference a countrywide warrant was out for the suspect’s arrest.
Evans said authorities found a car very early Sunday they believed Boelter was using, a few miles from his home in Green Isle, in the farm country about an hour west of Minneapolis. He also said they found evidence in the car that was relevant to the investigation, but did not provide details.
On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.
“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He took nine bullet hits. I took eight and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a place for this kind of political hate.”
Authorities named Boelter, 57, as a suspect, saying he wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car.
Evans confirmed that investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and believe it belonged to Boelter. The superintendent also said authorities interviewed Boelter’s wife and other family members in connection with Saturday’s shootings. He said they were co-operative and were not in custody.
Former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed by someone posing as a police officer on Saturday, and a second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded in what Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said were politically motivated shootings.
Evans provided the update as a state on edge struggled to make sense of the brazen political violence.
The FBI had issued a reward of up to $50,000 US for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings.
More than 100 law enforcement officers including SWAT teams were searching the area, including nearby homes, Evans said. He also said they had received more than 400 tips from the public.
The earlier search happened in rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles (80 kilometres) southwest of Minneapolis, where Boelter had a home with his wife and five children. Residents in the area received an emergency alert about the located vehicle that warned them to lock their doors and cars.
A crowd of officers were seen congregated on a dirt road near the abandoned dark sedan. Some officers broke off and walked into a wooded area off the road. The car was later towed away.
The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned.
Brightly coloured flowers and small U.S. flags were placed Sunday on the grey marbled stone of the Minnesota state capitol along with a photo of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including, “You were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power.”
Pam Stein came with flowers and kneeled by the memorial. An emotional Stein called Hortman an “absolute powerhouse” and “the real unsung hero of Minnesota government.”
No details on motive
Authorities have not yet given details on a motive.
A list of about 70 names was found in writings recovered from the fake police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, the officials said. The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates and information about healthcare facilities, according to the officials.
Evans clarified that while he described the materials on Saturday as a “manifesto,” the papers were not a political or ideological treatise. He said it was more of a notebook, listing lawmakers and other people, with various thoughts mixed in. He declined to give details.
A Minnesota official told The Associated Press that lawmakers who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The attacks prompted warnings to other state elected officials and the cancellation of planned “No Kings” demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway, including one that drew tens of thousands to the state capitol in St. Paul. Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car.
Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect’s 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.
The suspect
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.
Around 6 a.m. local time on Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologize for his actions, though he didn’t say what he had done.
“I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way.… I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused,” he wrote in messages viewed by AP.
Two Democrats targeted
Police first responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds.
Local police from Brooklyn Park were assisting with the call and decided to proactively check on Hortman’s home nearby, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said Saturday.
There, they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer leaving the house. Officers confronted him, he fired at them and officers returned fire. The suspect then retreated back into the home and fled on foot, Bruley said.
On social media, Gov. Tim Walz remembered Hortman on Sunday as, “The most consequential Speaker in state history.”
Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power-sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title Speaker emerita.
Hortman used her position as Speaker in 2023 to champion expanded protections for abortion rights, including legislation to solidify Minnesota’s status as a refuge for patients from restrictive states who travel to the state to seek abortions — and to protect providers who serve them.
The couple had an adult son and an adult daughter.
Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one adult daughter.