What we know so far about shootings of Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses

Elliot Hughes, Star Tribune on Jun 14, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesotans woke up Saturday to developing news of a political assassination in the Twin Cities suburbs.

State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot and injured. Both are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and Hortman until recently served as House speaker. Later in the day, law enforcement Vance Luther Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minnesota, as a suspect.

Here’s what to know about the situation:

According to law enforcement officials:

At 2 a.m. Saturday, Champlin police were called to Hoffman’s home, where he and his wife were found with gunshot wounds.

As an investigation ensued, Brooklyn Park police proactively went to check on Hortman’s home, about 5 or 6 miles away, at 3:30 a.m. There, officers found what appeared to be a police vehicle in the driveway with emergency lights on, and what appeared to be a police officer coming out of the house.

That individual immediately opened fire on Brooklyn Park police, retreated back into the home and then escaped.

Hortman and her husband, Mark, were later found in the home and pronounced dead from gunshot wounds.

Mark Bruley, the chief of Brooklyn Park police, said the suspect was driving a vehicle “that looked exactly like an SUV squad car. It was equipped with emergency lights. They were wearing a vest with a Taser, other equipment, a badge.”

“This was not a real police officer, this was a person who was clearly impersonating a police officer, wearing the trust of this badge to manipulate their way into the home,” he said.

As of Saturday night, the Hoffmans were in stable condition as they continued to recover from surgery, according to their nephew, Mat Ollig.

A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Vance Boelter, 57.

Law enforcement said the suspect wore a fake but convincing police uniform with a badge during the encounter with Brooklyn Park officers.

Bruley said there was “no question” the suspect would be mistaken for an officer.

The FBI announced a reward of up to $50,000 leading to Boelter’s arrest and conviction, and included photos of him wearing what appears to be a mask as he approaches one of the homes.

Gov. Tim Walz said it appears to be a politically motivated assassination.

Inside the fake police vehicle, Bruley said, officers found a manifesto and list of names for “many” other lawmakers and other officials. A state official confirmed dozens of names were on the list. A source who saw the list said the list targeted prominent abortions rights supporters. Hortman and Hoffman were on the list.

Officials also said that fliers for No Kings Day protests were found in the vehicle, prompting law enforcement to encourage people not to attend.

Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said “we will be in a position where we’ll be able to develop the motivation behind these attacks and we’ll be able to provide more information as this unfolds.”

According to Bruley, the manhunt involves “hundreds and hundreds of police officers.”

Several people have been detained and questioned but nobody is “in custody,” he said. Several people of interest have been identified.

Police are stopping at residences in pairs of two or more, Bruley said, explaining that officers will not be alone.

Mitchell Regional Public Safety dispatch in South Dakota issued a “Be on the Lookout” for a maroon Buick at 4:35 p.m., saying the driver is a “person of interest in the events that have happened in Minnesota” and may be traveling with “the person that was involved in the homicide considered armed and dangerous.”

The Minnesota State Patrol encouraged the public to avoid the planned No Kings Day protests across the state after fliers for the events were found in the suspect’s vehicle.

“Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution,” the patrol said in a statement.