The man accused of shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota drove to the homes of two additional politicians with the intent to kill them, the authorities said on Monday.
In both of those cases, they said, the man, Vance Boelter, was thwarted. One politician was not there. At the home of the other, he encountered a police officer who might have spooked him and caused him to flee.
The attacks began around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the authorities said, when Mr. Boelter, a 57-year-old funeral services employee, disguised himself as a police officer and drove to the home of State Senator John A. Hoffman in Champlin, Minn., a Minneapolis suburb.
Wearing a mask, he knocked on Mr. Hoffman’s door, shouting: “This is the police. Open the door.” When Mr. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, came to the door, Mr. Boelter told them a shooting had been reported in the house, according to a federal criminal complaint.
At some point, the couple realized that Mr. Boelter was wearing a mask and was not a real police officer, according to Joseph H. Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota. “You’re not a cop!” the couple shouted, to which Mr. Boelter responded, “This is a robbery,” and began forcing his way into the home, officials said.
When Senator Hoffman tried to push Mr. Boelter out of the home, officials said, Mr. Boelter shot the senator and his wife repeatedly, wounding them. They survived and remained hospitalized on Monday as they continued to recover.
Mr. Boelter then drove to a second state lawmaker’s house, in Maple Grove, a suburb about a 15-minute drive away from the Hoffman home. He rang the doorbell of the home at 2:24 a.m., still disguised as a police officer and saying he had a warrant. But the lawmaker was on vacation with her family, so he left, Mr. Thompson said.
Mr. Boelter got back into his car, a black S.U.V. with what looked like police lights and “Police” printed on the license plate, and drove to a third state lawmaker’s home, in New Hope, another nearby suburb.
State Senator Ann Rest, a Democrat, said on Monday that it was her home.
After the shooting of Mr. Hoffman, a police officer was dispatched to Ms. Rest’s house. That police officer encountered Mr. Boelter sitting in his S.U.V. down the street from the home at 2:36 a.m. and believed he was a real police officer, according to the criminal complaint.
The officer tried to speak with Mr. Boelter but he did not respond to her, so she continued to the state senator’s home and waited there for additional police officers to arrive. When they did, Mr. Boelter was gone, the complaint said.
Ms. Rest said in a statement that the quick decision by police officers to check on her home had “saved my life.”
Not long after leaving Ms. Rest’s street, Mr. Boelter drove to the home of State Representative Melissa Hortman, in Brooklyn Park. Police officers who had been dispatched to check on her arrived around 3:30 a.m. and saw Mr. Boelter standing near the front door of the home, according to the complaint.
When Mr. Boelter saw the police arrive, he fired into the house and ran into it, ultimately killing Ms. Hortman and her husband, Mark, federal officials said. (The authorities had previously said he also fired at officers, though they now say it is unclear whether he did or not.)
The perpetrator then escaped out of the back of the house, initiating a two-day manhunt that ended on Sunday night with Mr. Boelter’s arrest. He is now facing state and federal charges related to the attacks. Federal officials have charged him with two counts of murder using a firearm, crimes that can bring the death penalty.
Mitch Smith contributed reporting.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York.
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