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

Elliot Hughes, Star Tribune on Jun 15, 2025

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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 identified Vance Luther Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, Minn., 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 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 both 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 prominent abortions rights supporters were included. Hortman and Hoffman were both on the list.

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.”

On Sunday morning, officials said they found an unoccupied black sedan that belongs to Boelter near Hwy. 25 and 301st Avenue in Faxon Township. The location is just a few miles east of Boelter’s Green Isle home. The vehicle was spotted on the side of the gravel road with its doors open.

The finding of Boelter’s car follows the detention of his wife and three other relatives by law enforcement more than 100 miles from the Boelters’ home late Saturday morning, according to a Sunday update by the Mille Lacs County sheriff. Sheriff Kyle Burton said, Boelter’s wife, Jenny Boelter, was stopped between 10:30 and 11 a.m. Saturday outside the Casey’s convenience store just off Hwy. 169 in Onamia.

As of Sunday morning, Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesman Howie Padilla said Jenny Boelter was not in custody.

The Minnesota State Patrol encouraged the public to avoid the planned No Kings Day protests across the state after flyers 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.

Hortman was the top Democratic leader in the Minnesota House.

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