Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect 'stalked his victims like prey,' attorney says
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Almost 200 law enforcement officers — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County to apprehend the suspect, Vance Boelter.
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.
Names of more than 45 state and federal officials listed in suspect's notebook
Notebooks found in the suspect's car included the names of more than 45 state and federal elected officials, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said.
“Boelter planned his attack carefully," he said. "He researched his victims and their families. He used the internet and other tools to find their addresses and names, the names of the family members. He conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes of the location of their homes.”
Officials believe he had been planning the attacks “for quite some time.”
Officials say it's not clear if suspect returned fire at police
Brooklyn Park police dispatched to check on lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, saw Boelter standing in front of the house.
“He rushed into the house through the front door, firing into it,” said Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the district of Minnesota. “He repeatedly fired into the house and when he entered, he murdered Rep. Hortman and her husband, Mark.”
The suspect escaped the home out the back door, he said.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minnesota, said it's not clear if "gunfire was returned at the officer or not."
Local describes moment she believes she saw suspect lurking near friend's home
Wendy Thomas recounted the moment she said she believes she saw the suspect lurking in the grass near her friend's Green Isle home before his arrest.
"I didn’t think he was in the area at all. I thought he was long gone," she said.
Wendy Thomas stands by the Green Isle field where she says she saw Vance Boelter. Maggie Vespa / NBC News
Thomas had stopped by her friend's home to pick something up, and as she was backing her truck down the driveway, she said she believes she saw a person in the grass. Thomas said she was on the phone with her father, who wanted her to hurry up and get back home.
She said she initially thought the person was a law enforcement official.
"I'm like, 'Oh, they're clearing properties.' That's what I figured it was," she said. "And the more my brain registered, I'm like, 'Dad, there's only one person. There's no vehicle.' And then I started freaking out."
Thomas said she watched the person walk and then duck down in the grass.
"I was shaking, freaking out," she recalled.
She flagged down officers who were opening up the roads.
"You could see squatting in the culvert," she said. "And I started pointing, there he is, there he is."
Suspect went to the homes of 4 Minnesota state politicians
Boelter went to the homes of four Minnesota state politicians with the intent to kill them, officials said. After the shooting at the Hoffmans' home, he allegedly traveled to the home of another state representative in Maple Grove.
Video showed that he rang the doorbell at 2:24 a.m. on Saturday, but the representative and her family were on vacation and not home.
“So Boelter left,” said Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota.
Boelter then drove to the New Hope home of a state senator, Thompson said. An officer was dispatched to the home to conduct a wellness check. The officer saw Boelter’s vehicle parked up the street but thought he was a police officer who had also been dispatched to the scene, according to Thompson.
Thompson said Boelter left and went to the Brooklyn Park home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.
'You’re not a cop!' Sen. Hoffman and his wife shouted before the shooting
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson said Vance Boelter arrived at the Champlin home of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, in a black SUV with emergency lights turned on and a license plate that read "police. "
Boelter was allegedly disguised as a police officer and dressed in a black tactical best and body armor. Thompson said he was carrying a flashlight and a handgun and wearing a "hyper realistic" silicone mask.
Boelter allegedly knocked on the Hoffmans' door and repeatedly shouted that he was the police. When the Hoffmans opened the door, Boelter allegedly shined the flashlight in their faces and said that a shooting had been reported.
The couple realized he was not an officer when he lowered the flashlight.
"They shouted, "You’re not a cop! You’re not a police officer!” Thompson said. "Boelter then announced 'this is a robbery' and forced himself into their home.”
Thompson said the senator tried to push Boelter out of the home. Boelter is accused of repeatedly shooting the senator and his wife before fleeing.
"Sen. Hoffman had a security camera. I’ve seen the footage from that camera, and it is chilling," Thompson said.
Federal charges filed against suspect
Multiple federal charges were filed against Boelter, including two counts of stalking and two counts of murder.
The charges are:
Count 1: Stalking state Rep. Melissa Hortman using interstate commerce
Count 2: Stalking state Sen. John Hoffman using interstate commerce
Count 3: Murder of Melissa Hortman with a firearm
Count 4: Murder of Mark Hortman with a firearm
Count 5: Firearms offense in the shooting of Melissa and Mark Hortman
Count 6: Firearms offense in the shooting of John and Yvette Hoffman
When asked if they will seek the death penalty, Thompson said, “It’s too early to tell, that is one of the options for several of the charges.”
Suspect 'stalked his victims like prey'
Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, said Boelter "stalked his victims like prey."
"He went to their homes, held himself out as a police officer and shot them in cold blood," he said at a news conference.
Thompson said it's "no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares."
Suspect 'gave up peacefully' before arrest, authorities say
The suspect "cooperated with law enforcement and gave up peacefully," authorities said at a news conference.
Law enforcement was led to Sibley County after receiving information about a vehicle that was recovered. They then received additional information that provided confirmation he was in the area.
"They were able to close in, and when we say he was crawling towards us, these were in response to commands by the SWAT teams that were on scene as they were working in coordination with each other," an official said.
Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will seek first-degree murder charges
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed multiple charges have been filed against Vance Boelter, and it will seek first-degree murder charges. He was charged via a warrant issued nationwide with two counts of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree attempted intentional murder.
The second-degree murder charge was used to secure the warrant “as quickly as possible,” the attorney’s office said in a news release.
Employer remembers Mark Hortman for his 'kindness and generosity'
"We are heartbroken by the loss of our friend and colleague, Mark Hortman, and his wife, Melissa," a spokesperson for nVent Electric said in a statement. "Mark was a valuable member of our Twin Cities-area team and worked closely with colleagues globally, across nVent."
They said his loss will be felt "company-wide" and remembered him for his "intelligence, kindness and generosity."
"We offer our condolences to Mark and Melissa’s children, family and friends. Our nVent family will support and care for them and our community during this difficult time," the spokesperson said. "We also send our thoughts and wishes for continued recovery to Minnesota State Senator, John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette."
Official says killing of Speaker Melissa Hortman appears to be 'related to her work'
The ongoing investigation into the killing of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, is looking into whether the shooting was politically motivated and specifically in response to her work.
Vance Boelter, who is accused of the killings, as well as the nonfatal shooting of state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, was captured by police last night after a massive two-day manhunt.
Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told NBC’s "TODAY" show this morning: "That is a motive that we need to look into.... we’re certainly looking into whether or not this is related to their work, but it certainly would appear so."
Jacobson wouldn’t say whether Boelter was cooperating with detectives or if a motive had been established.
“I can’t get into the details of any interviews with Mr. Boelter at this time, but just know that we are talking to witnesses and we continue to talk to the victims of this, and we’re certainly working to get more information from Mr. Boelter,” Jacobson said.
The commissioner did, however, confirm that law enforcement pulled over and interviewed Boelter’s cooperative wife without providing any further details.
Neighbor heard gunfire that injured John and Yvette Hoffman
A neighbor of state Sen. John Hoffman told NBC that he heard the gunfire that injured the legislator and his wife, Yvette Hoffman.
"I heard a 'pow-pow, pow-pow-pow," Clarence Shaffer said. "I saw a dark black car backing out of the Hoffmans' driveway."
Yvette Hoffman said in a statement overnight from the hospital: "John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive."
After a two-day manhunt, Vance Boelter was arrested and faces charges in connection with the shooting last night, and is charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Melissa and Mark Horton.
‘An incredible woman’: Sen. Klobuchar on slain Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., joined "Morning Joe" to discuss the killings of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.
She described Hortman as a committed mother and community leader who was at heart of positive change.
"She became what many are saying, including Republicans in our state, one of the most consequential speakers of the house in Minnesota history," she said, pointing to legislature on school lunches and paid family leave.
Suspect charged in connection with the murder of Melissa and Mark Hortman
Vance Boelter has been arrested and charged with four counts in connection with the killing of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, as well as the attack on state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman.
"He is charged in the cases at this time with the murders of speaker Hortman and her husband, Mark. Hortman also with the shootings in John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman for those crimes and will be moving forward," Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told a late night press conference.
Evans added that his team was in contact with the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office who he said were examining whether to bring their own additional charges.
Boelter to appear in court on four murder charges today
The suspect alleged to have killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, will appear in court in Minneapolis today at 1.30 p.m. local time.
He faces four counts of murder, two of which relate to the shooting of state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, who are recovering.
Boelter, 57, is being held on a $5 million bond and police released a mugshot of him wearing an orange jumpsuit.
How Boelter was captured: Authorities explain the conclusion to a massive manhunt
The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found last night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.
Law enforcement officers numbering nearly 200 — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County, about an hour outside Minneapolis, starting yesterday morning. But the suspect may have taken advantage of rural terrain to remain hidden most of the day, authorities said.
