A two-day manhunt in Minnesota that gripped the nation came to an end on Sunday night after officials arrested a suspect tied to attacks that killed one state legislator and wounded another.
The suspect, identified as Vance Boelter, 57, was apprehended and charged on Sunday with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The New York Times. He is accused of fatally shooting State Representative Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband at their home in a suburb of Minneapolis and injuring State Senator John A. Hoffman and his wife at their home. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota called the shootings targeted acts of political violence.
The shootings rattled residents in Minnesota and left politicians across the country fearing for their safety. The attacks were just the latest in a string of recent acts of political violence that have pushed lawmakers to reconsider how accessible they are to their constituents. Some politicians, like Ms. Hortman and Mr. Hoffman, had publicly shared their home addresses.
Here’s what we know about the case.
How was the suspect captured?
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from federal, state and local agencies were involved in what officials called the largest manhunt in Minnesota’s history.
The roughly 43-hour operation ended in a rural area near Green Isle, Minn., where at least 20 SWAT teams surrounded the suspect, officials said. Officials located him after an officer thought he had seen the suspect darting into the woods nearby.
Investigators had previously found an abandoned vehicle that they believed belonged to the suspect. Once spotted, the suspect “crawled to law enforcement teams” and was detained without the use of force, Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger said during a late Sunday news conference. The suspect was armed when he was detained, added Drew Evans, the superintendent of the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
“You can rest assured that we will put every ounce of effort the state of Minnesota has to make sure justice is served and the individual responsible for this serves the time for the unspeakable act,” Gov. Tim Walz said at a Sunday night news conference.
What happened in the attacks?
The shootings occurred early Saturday morning in the suburbs of Minneapolis.
The police first responded to a report of a shooting at Mr. Hoffman’s residence in Champlin, Minn., around 2 a.m. After discovering that one of the victims was a politician, officers went to check on Ms. Hortman in Brooklyn Park, a nearby suburb.
Then, officers arrived at Ms. Hortman’s home around 3:30 a.m. and encountered the suspect, who immediately opened fire at them before escaping on foot, the authorities said. Mr. Evans commended Brooklyn Park police officers for proactively going to Ms. Hortman’s home after Mr. Hoffman’s.
The suspect impersonated a police officer during the attacks, wearing a rubber mask and tactical gear, officials said. Later on Saturday, investigators towed a vehicle from the driveway of Ms. Hortman’s home that they believe was designed to look like a law enforcement vehicle, with a license plate that read “Police.”
Mr. Boelter was taken into custody late Sunday evening, according to officials, ending a two-day manhunt.
Who are the victims?
Ms. Hortman, a lawyer who was a legislator for nearly two decades, led the State House as its speaker from 2019 to early this year.
When Democrats held a slim majority in the Legislature in 2023, Ms. Hortman helped pass bills that expanded abortion rights, legalized reactional marijuana and required employers to offer paid family and medical leave.
Mark Hortman, her husband, was known as a supportive partner and a common face on the campaign trail. He played a vital role in his wife’s political success, friends said.
At the time of his death, Mr. Hortman was working as a program manager at nVent Electric, a global electrical manufacturing company. The Hortmans had two children.
Mr. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were found with multiple gunshot wounds at their home in Champlin, Minn., about 10 miles away from the Hortmans’ residence.
Mr. Hoffman was shot nine times, according to a message from his wife that was shared by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. He was elected in 2013; before entering politics, he served on a school board and worked in marketing and public relations. He is in his forth term as senator and chairs the Minnesota Senate Human Services Committee.
Ms. Hoffman, a former D.J., said she was shot eight times.
Their nephew, Mat Ollig, wrote in a Facebook post that Ms. Hoffman had thrown “herself onto her daughter, using her body as a shield to save her life.”
Mr. Hoffman came out of his final surgery on Sunday, and his wife was recovering, Mr. Walz said Sunday night.
Who is the suspect?
Mr. Boelter once served on a state board, the Workforce Development Board, with one of the victims: Mr. Hoffman. The suspect had been appointed several times to the board, but it was unclear if he and Mr. Hoffman knew each other, though they did attend a virtual meeting together in 2022.
The suspect’s listed address is in Green Isle, about an hour from Minneapolis. Officials said at a news conference on Sunday that they had found “items relevant to the investigation” in a vehicle in the area, including a cowboy hat that Mr. Boelter was seen wearing on Saturday.
The authorities also said they had spoken with members of Mr. Boelter’s family, including his wife, and none were in custody.
Mr. Boelter owned guns and voted for President Trump last year, according to David Carlson, a childhood friend. He is a Christian who opposes abortion, Mr. Carlson added.
Mr. Boelter ran a private security company with his wife, the company’s website showed. He had worked as a general manger at a 7-Eleven, according to his LinkedIn page. The page lists him as the chief executive of a company called Red Lion Group, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dedicated to creating “good jobs for local people,” according to the company’s website.
In a video circulating online, Mr. Boelter says he has worked for two funeral homes in greater Minneapolis. Tim Koch, the owner of Metro First Call, a funeral service company, confirmed that he had worked there in an interview.
Mr. Boelter said in a sermon he gave in Congo that he was married and had five children.
Were there other targets?
The police found a notebook with names in a vehicle tied to the suspect that was parked near the home of Ms. Hortman, the authorities said. It included around 70 potential targets, they said, including doctors, community and business leaders, and Planned Parenthood centers.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Democrat of Minnesota, said the list included her name and that of other Democratic lawmakers, including Ms. Klobuchar and U.S. Representatives Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar. Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, another Democrat, was also mentioned, his office said.
At a news conference on Sunday, state officials tried to tamp down speculation around a motive in the shootings, saying a lot is still unknown.
“I don’t want the public to have the impression that there’s this long manifesto that’s providing all of this information and details,” Mr. Evans said.
Pooja Salhotra covers breaking news across the United States.
The post Minnesota Manhunt and Arrest: What We Know appeared first on New York Times.
