What we know
- SUSPECT CAPTURED: Vance Boelter, the suspect in the fatal shootings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as the woundings of another lawmaker and his wife, has been captured.
- ARREST AND CHARGES: Boelter, 57, was arrested and charged in connection with the killings of Melissa and Mark Hortman and the shootings of John and Yvette Hoffman, authorities said.
- MASSIVE MANHUNT: Authorities mobilized state and local police, SWAT teams and K-9 units across multiple counties in what police called the biggest manhunt in state history.
- TACTICS REVEALED: Evidence indicates the shooter impersonated law enforcement to enter the Democratic lawmakers' homes.
Three representatives in Wisconsin and Michigan say they were on Boelter's list
Three representatives from two states — Wisconsin and Michigan — said their names were on a list linked to Boelter.
They are Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; Hillary Scholten, D-Mich.; and Mark Pocan, D-Wis.
A spokesperson for Dingell declined to comment further. In a statement, Scholten said the news prompted her to postpone a town hall scheduled for today in Muskegon.
“Open, honest dialogue with West Michigan is at the heart of my service — and I will not be deterred from standing up for this community,” she said. “Out of an abundance of caution and to not divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time, this is the responsible choice.”
In a statement, Pocan thanked law enforcement for apprehending the suspect and said he “will not back down in the face of terror.”
Elected officials “must do better to lower the temperature,” he added.
Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, told reporters earlier that notebooks found in Boelter's car included more than 45 federal and state elected officials’ names.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin's name was on list linked to suspect, spokesman says
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., was among those on a list of names linked to Boelter, a spokesman for Baldwin said.
“Senator Baldwin was informed by law enforcement that she was included on the alleged shooter’s list of names,” the spokesperson said in a statement today. “She is grateful for law enforcement’s swift action to keep the community safe and remains focused on the things that matter most here: honoring the legacy and life of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, praying for the other victims who are fighting for their lives, and condemning this abhorrent, senseless political violence.”
Baldwin, who was elected in 2012, is the state’s junior senator.
The names of more than 45 state and federal elected officials were found in notebooks in Boelter’s car, said Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney.
Ohio congressman says his name was found in evidence linked to suspect
An Ohio congressman said his name was found among the evidence authorities gathered during their search for Boelter.
In a statement today, Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democrat whose district includes Cincinnati, said the FBI notified him yesterday.
“Since the suspect was still at large at that time, we worked very closely with the Cincinnati Police Department to arrange for increased security for my family and me,” Landsman said. “I’m extremely thankful to the Cincinnati Police Department for their quick assistance and to Capitol Police for their guidance.”
Officials have said they discovered notebooks in Boelter’s car that included dozens of state and federal officials’ names.
Minnesota Democratic lawmaker: Attack is a 'wake-up call' for security for state legislators
Emma Greenman, a Democratic state representative in Minnesota, remained sheltered in place throughout the weekend. Only after she was notified that the shooting suspect had been apprehended late last night did she get the green light to return home from the relative’s house where she’d been sheltering. (State lawmakers sheltered in different locations, Greenman said, depending on their circumstances.)
Greenman said the shooting would almost certainly have to be a “wake-up call” about the lack of security measures to protect state legislators.
“What does this mean now for part-time legislators?” Greenman said in a phone interview. “We are not members of Congress, who have a lot more resources. Frankly, there’s just been a lot more thinking about how to protect members of Congress or a governor, probably even a mayor.”
“I think a lot of us are going through this,” Greenman said. “We are normal people in normal neighborhoods across the state of Minnesota — we just haven’t been in this vulnerable target situation before.”
Greenman expressed worries about “what happens next.”
“We have lots of questions about our security. We all feel much more vulnerable now — even now that this guy’s caught, there is going to be a worry about copycats,” she said. “There’s escalating right-wing disinformation that has now put all of us, and our state, in the spotlight in a way that gives oxygen to extremism. And that’s scary.”
Judge sets bail at $5 million in connection with state charges
A Minnesota judge ordered Boelter’s bail set at $5 million in connection with state murder charges.
Boelter, 57, was not in the Hennepin County courtroom for his initial appearance this afternoon.
He was charged with multiple counts of second-degree intentional murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have said they will also seek first-degree murder charges.
Boelter appeared in a federal courtroom earlier in St. Paul. He was charged with multiple crimes, including stalking, murder with a firearm and firearms offenses.
State lawmaker says suspect was seen parked near her home
A Minnesota lawmaker thanked local police for saving her life after, she said, she learned that Boelter was seen parked near her home Saturday morning.
“I have been made aware that the shooting suspect was parked near my home early Saturday morning,” state Sen. Ann Rest said in a statement this afternoon. “I am so grateful for the heroic work of the New Hope Police Department and its officers. Their quick action saved my life.”
Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney, told reporters earlier that Boelter traveled to the homes of four state politicians with the intent to kill them. One of the homes was that of a state senator in New Hope, he said.
An officer who had been dispatched to the home to conduct a wellness check saw Boelter’s vehicle but believed he was a police officer who had been sent to the scene, Thompson said.
Boelter left the house and went to the Brooklyn Park home of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, who were fatally shot, Thompson said.
Thompson said 45 state and federal officials’ names were found in notebooks in the suspect's car.
At suspect's initial hearing, prosecutors argue for him to be detained while he awaits trial
Federal prosecutors who are seeking to have Boelter detained while he awaits trial told a judge today that charges are “extremely serious.”
Boelter, who was wearing an orange jail suit during his initial appearance in a St. Paul courtroom, had the capacity and intent to flee, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Endicott said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty ordered preliminary and detention hearings for June 27.
The judge ordered Boelter to be represented by a federal public defender after he said he does not have a lawyer and cannot afford one. He said he earns $540 per week through a part-time job and has no other sources of income.
Suspect bought e-bike and car from witness, affidavit says
Boelter returned to an address in North Minneapolis after the shootings. An affidavit says a witness met him at a bus stop Saturday morning. He had two duffel bags and asked to buy an electric bike from the witness.
The witness said they boarded a bus together and traveled to the witness’ residence, where Boelter also asked to buy a vehicle. The pair drove to a bank where Boelter withdrew $2,200, according to officials.
He paid the witness around $900 for the bike and the car, according to the affidavit. The car was later found abandoned on a highway close to a reported sighting of the bike.
Authorities alleged that they found a handwritten letter in the car in which Boelter admitted to being the “shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shooting in the morning of Saturday, June 15th," the affidavit says. The letter was directed to the FBI, according to the affidavit.
Hortman remembered as 'steady hand' who guided state through pandemic and George Floyd murder
Emma Greenman, a Democratic state representative in Minnesota who was personally close with Hortman, remembered her as the “steady hand” who helped navigate Minnesota through some of the most politically tumultuous times the state has ever seen.
Hortman was the speaker of the state House from January 2019 to this January, meaning she held the critical leadership position through the entire Covid pandemic and the 2020 protests that overtook Minneapolis — and cities around the United States — following the murder of George Floyd by police officers.
“We had in Minnesota been living through the pandemic — Melissa was speaker through all of that, George Floyd being murdered and the uprising that happened and the security risk that that brought to all of us, including her, and then Jan. 6th and everything that came after. Melissa was speaker through all of that,” Greenman said.
“She was the steady hand through all of it, who was very intentional — not just about trying to figure out how to navigate through that and protect us, but also our staff and the public,” she added.
Greenman said it had been “really hard” for her and her colleagues in the Legislature to process and grieve because they’d remained sheltered in place for the entire weekend as law enforcement officials pursued the gunman.
“We haven’t gotten to talk about Melissa a lot, because, as members [of the Legislature], most of us have been in this situation where we’re just trying to figure out what the f--- is going on,” she said. “It’s hard to really grieve for our friend, for our leader, for our state when you’re still not sure whether the threat is still out there.”
‘Dad went to war last night,’ suspect allegedly texted family
Boelter sent a group text to his wife and other family members that said: “Dad went to war last night…. I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” a criminal affidavit alleges.
He also sent a text to his wife that said “words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for the situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” according to the affidavit.
A search of his wife’s car found two handguns, passports for her and her children and $10,000 in cash, the affidavit says.
