Recently unsealed court documents shed more light on the mindset and actions of the man charged in connection to the deadly shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses this past weekend in the Twin Cities.
Vance Boelter, 57, is in custody and faces multiple federal and state murder charges following the attack overnight Saturday that killed Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, inside their Brooklyn Park home.
Boelter’s also accused of shooting and seriously wounding Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, inside their Champlin home about 90 minutes earlier.
Details from the affidavit
According to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent, law enforcement pulled over Boelter’s wife and four children hours after the shootings on Saturday near Lake Mille Lacs. His wife told investigators they were going to visit friends after her husband posted in a family group text “they needed to get out of the house and people with guns may be showing up.”
The affidavit states Boelter’s wife told the investigator they were “preppers,” meaning they “prepare for major or catastrophic incidents.” She says her husband gave her a “bailout plan,” including a directive to go to her mother’s home in southwestern Wisconsin.
She also told investigators her husband “has a business partner from Worthington” who lives in the state of Washington. She allegedly said the two were “partners … in Red Lion, a security company and fishing outfit in Congo, Africa,” the affidavit states.
Empty rifle cases found in storage locker, search warrant says
Law enforcement learned during their investigation that Boelter rented a storage locker in Minneapolis on June 10, according to court documents obtained by WCCO on Friday. He last “used his access code” for the locker the day before the shootings.
Investigators later searched the locker and found empty rifle cases, gun-cleaning supplies and a bike, according to the warrant.
Detectives sweep Hortmans’ neighborhood again
Brooklyn Park police say detectives are again canvassing the area of the Hortmans’ home near Edinburgh Golf Course on Friday “for any additional evidence related to the homicides” and Wednesday’s break-in at their home. Police say “there is no danger to the public.”
WCCO’s Sky 4 helicopter spotted law enforcement gathered at a pond on the golf course, with divers searching the waters.
The evidence scattered around Hortman’s neighborhood
Police encountered Boelter at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday outside the Hortmans’ home, where they exchanged gunfire, the federal criminal complaint notes. After allegedly killing the Hortmans, he fled the area on foot.
Officers pursued, finding a ballistic vest, handgun magazines, a flashlight, face mask and Beretta 92 9mm pistol along the way.
The federal complaint notes investigators identified Boelter from a storage unit bill found at the scene that listed his name; license plates found that were removed from the vehicle left outside the Hortmans’ home, registered to Boelter and his wife; and pieces of the Beretta handgun — bought by Boelter in 2020 — and abandoned ammo magazine found in the Hortmans’ neighborhood. Investigators say the ammo matched bullet casings found around their home.
Hoffmans detail night of terror
Yvette Hoffman, who was shot eight times, was released from the hospital on Thursday evening. Her husband, who suffered nine gunshot wounds, is in serious but stable condition.
In a statement released on Thursday night, the Hoffman family recounted the terrifying attack, saying they were woken up by someone impersonating an officer who was banging on their door at 2 a.m. The senator was shot while lunging at the gunman. As he fell to the floor, his wife was shot while pushing the gunman out of the front doorway.
The Hoffmans’ daughter, Hope, shut and locked the door before calling 911, triggering a warning that a “politically motivated act was potentially underway,” according to the statement.
“We are grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn’t like what you stand for,” the family wrote in the statement. “As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully. The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.”
This story will be updated.
Nicholas Lentz,
WCCO Staff and
contributed to this report.
Stephen Swanson is a web producer at CBS News Minnesota. Stephen was a floor director for a decade before moving to the WCCO-TV newsroom in 2011, where he focuses on general assignment reporting.
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