The suspect in the fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband – who also shot another local politician and his wife – has been identified, but as of early Saturday afternoon, had yet to be found.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was formally named as the suspect at a press conference held early Saturday afternoon hours after one was held in the morning.
Boelter allegedly shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park, a Minneapolis suburb early Saturday morning. He is also wanted for allegedly shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette at their residence in nearby Champlin shortly before.
The victims’ identities were confirmed by officials in a press conference on Saturday morning. Hoffman (MN-34) and his wife both sustained injuries described as “significant,” but Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that he was “optimistic” that they would both survive.
After learning who the first pair of victims was, officers went to check on Rep. Hortman’s home, and upon arriving, they found what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door who was leaving the house.
According to Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley, the suspect opened fire on officers upon being confronted and retreated into the home, where he later escaped.
Thousands of residents within a three-mile radius of a local golf course were asked to shelter in place as authorities look for Boelter, who is considered armed and dangerous. He was said by law enforcement to have been driving a fake police car and was posing as an officer when the shootings occurred.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 4:20 p.m. local time.
Writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other officials were found inside the fake squad car, as were papers with “No Kings” written on them, authorities elaborated.
“No Kings” likely refers to the protests against President Donald Trump’s administration that are occurring across America on Saturday; demonstrations in Minneapolis and across the state were canceled in the wake of the shootings.
According to state records, Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Sen. Hoffman, although it is not clear if or how well they knew each other. He had been appointed by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 and reappointed in 2019 by Gov. Walz for a four-year term, which expired in 2023.
State records also show that Boelter’s wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC, which provides residential security patrols as well as uniformed guard patrols. The company’s website lists her as president and CEO and lists Boelter as director of security patrols.
An exact motive for the shooting has yet to be established; however, Gov. Walz stated that the incident was a “targeted” act and later called it a “politically motivated assassination.”
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