Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker's killing is captured
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The suspect is also linked to another nearby shooting that severely injured a state senator and his wife.
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Hoffman family expresses gratitude following suspect's arrest
In a statement released by the Hoffman family following Boelter’s arrest, Yvette Hoffman thanked law enforcement for the suspect’s capture.
“John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” the statement read. “We continue our healing journey and are humbled by the outpouring of love and support our family has received from across the state and our nation.”
The statement also expressed mourning for the deaths of the Hormans, noting: “There is never a place for senseless political violence and loss of life.”
Suspect ditched vehicle after shootout with police, helping lead to capture, official says
Police officers were performing a check at Rep. Melissa Hortman’s home when they found her and her husband shot dead, bullet holes in their front door, Evans of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said at a news conference.
During the check, officers came upon the suspect, which forced him to leave his vehicle behind as he fled and ultimately facilitated his eventual capture, Evans said. Authorities had said officers checking on Hortman's home after the shooting at Hoffman's home exchanged gunfire with a suspect.
"If that had not happened, I have every confidence that this would have continued throughout the day," Evans said Sunday night.
Officials detail suspect's capture
After the suspect's Buick and hat were found about 3 miles from his Green Isle, Minnesota, home Sunday morning, as many as 200 law enforcement personnel descended on the area as he eluded them for more than 10 hours, authorities said.
It wasn't clear whether Boelter was even in the area on the eastern edge of Sibley County, they said earlier Sunday evening. But on Sunday night, law enforcement got a tip of a sighting and descended on the location in the county and quickly found and took him into custody, authorities working on the case said at Sunday night's news conference.
A police officer had reported seeing someone running into woods, Evans said, and law enforcement officers, SWAT teams and a state helicopter located him, called out for his surrender and captured him after he crawled toward them in a field Sunday night, Evans said.
Searchers were challenged by the terrain, he said, but never let up.
“This is in a rural area,” Evans said. “It’s streams, fields, woods, crops.”
Boelter was arrested peacefully and taken to an undisclosed facility where he was being interviewed by detectives, Evans said.
Boelter was armed, Evans said, but authorities were not saying exactly with what as the investigation into a possible motive was ongoing.
People from multiple states were on list linked to suspect
Boelter, on a list of targets linked to him, had names of people from multiple states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa, Evans said at the news conference.
Evans stressed the list was not exhaustive, and he did not give more specifics. He said his unit is in contact with local law enforcement and the FBI in those states to notify those who are on the list.
Sen. Hoffman out of surgery and recovering, Gov. Walz says
Sen. John Hoffman is out of his final operation and is moving toward recovery, Walz said at an evening news conference after the suspect was arrested.
His wife, Yvette, is healing, Walz said.
Walz also noted the "heroic actions" from the Hoffman family, specifically the couple's daughter, Hope, who Walz said "saved countless lives."
Yvette shielded her daughter from the bullets, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported. Hope was unharmed, and a criminal complaint indicated that and unnamed person had called 911 to report that someone in a mask had shot their parents.
Gov. Walz to hold news conference about case
Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to speak in just a few minutes.
His office billed the event as a "public safety update," with expectations he might detail the capture of the suspect in yesterday's shootings.
He'll be joined by Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson; the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Drew Evans; and local law enforcement officials, his office said.
Sheriff in tears upon hearing of suspect's capture
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt was in tears as she confirmed the arrest of suspect Vance Boelter in a phone call with NBC News.
She said there is so much relief and that the suspect was taken into custody peacefully at 9:12 p.m., with no injuries to either him or the officers involved.
'The face of evil': Shooting suspect captured
Suspect Vance Boelter is in custody after a manhunt that lasted more than a day, two law enforcement sources told NBC News tonight.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed the capture on Facebook. “The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Boelter is accused of fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as injuring Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in a second shooting.
Minnesota AG: 'We're not intimidated'
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had a blunt message for the suspect being sought in the shootings of local politicians yesterday: "We’re not intimidated."
Ellison said he is on the list found in a notebook belonging to Boelter that appeared to include the names of politicians the suspect was targeting.
"He murdered my dear friend Melissa Hortman, who was on that list, and shot down my other dear friend, John Hoffman, who was on that list along with their spouses," Ellison said.
Ellison insisted the state is not backing down.
"This guy cannot intimidate us. He can have whatever kind of little list he wants," he said. "We're going to be safe. We're going to be pragmatic. But we're not going to stop standing up for justice."
Ellison spoke about the "climate of political violence, where violence is looked at as an option to achieve a political goal," that has been taking hold across the nation recently, with a number of lone-wolf attacks that appear to have had political motivations.
"We all must denounce it," Ellison said, calling the shootings an "act of an evil individual who committed an evil, heinous, cowardly act."
Portrait of suspect in ‘politically motivated’ shootings emerges amid massive manhunt
As a massive manhunt for Boelter continues, authorities are piecing together a profile of the alleged gunman accused of killing a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another in two separate “politically motivated” shootings yesterday morning.
In a video circulating online, Boelter introduces himself as a married father of five from Green Isle, Minnesota, who works for two funeral homes, Wulff Funeral Home and Metro First Call, handling what he called “removals.”
“Fun fact about myself, I’ve been in the food industry about 30 years and that led to an opportunity. I was invited to the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said in the video, adding that he worked with Del Monte Foods and Minnesota-based chicken producer Gold’n Plump.
In a 2022 video posted to Facebook and verified by NBC News, Minnesota Africans United featured a person introduced as Vance Boelter during a discussion about trade and investment opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a keynote presenter, Boelter said he was calling from the DRC and spoke about his work partnering with farmers and fishermen in the country to help them stimulate their food supply system.
No evidence suspect made threats to people on list linked to him, authorities say
The suspect in yesterday's political violence had a notebook with an alleged list of potential targets, authorities said, but did not make threats against anyone on it in the past, at least as far as investigators know so far.
The list featured slain state Rep. Melissa Hortman and the injured Sen. John Hoffman near the very top, according to Democratic Party executive Ron Harris, a Minnesotan. It also listed other state elected officials and people known for their support of abortion rights, sources familiar with the investigation have said.
Investigators have not turned up evidence that Boelter has threatened people on the list in the past, Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference.
“So far, we have not located any prior threats with this individual towards anybody on that,” he said. “That will obviously be part a deeper dive to really understand the motivation of this individual and connections related to threats, whether they might be here or in different parts of the United States.”
In addition, authorities said, it appears that Boelter acted alone, though investigators aren't definitively ruling out the possibility that he may have had help.
So-called manifesto linked to suspect isn't traditional, officials say
The so-called manifesto that was found and linked to Boelter is not what many expect when they think of the word.
It's not a long document full of ideologies, Evans said, but a notebook that includes a list of lawmakers, as well as "other thoughts," throughout, mixed in with other documents.
"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 and then associated with names," Evans said. "It's much more about names and then others."
Family of suspect, assumed to still be alive, was 'very cooperative'
Authorities are operating under the assumption that Boelter is still alive, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said at a news conference tonight.
He said Boelter's wife and relatives, who were located earlier today, were released because they were "very cooperative" and provided the information authorities were seeking.
“Any time an individual is identified as a suspect in an investigation, we’re going to talk to their family members and do that," Evans said. "So we met with his family — not just his wife, but other family members — to really understand what’s going on, and that will help us complete the investigation.”
Evans added that while Boelter has "certainly been in contact" with people, he could not say whether anyone has been providing him active assistance.
More evidence found in car associated with suspect
Officials found "items of evidence that are relevant to this investigation" in the car discovered this morning that's associated with the suspect, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference tonight.
The items were taken from the car and are involved in the ongoing investigation into Boelter, Evans said, adding that he couldn't give more information about the evidence.
Sen. John Hoffman undergoes multiple operations after being shot nine times, wife says
In a text message screenshot shared online by Sen. Klobuchar, Yvette Hoffman, state Sen. John Hoffman's wife, said he is undergoing multiple operations after having been shot nine times but is “closer every hour to being out of the woods.”
“I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” Yvette Hoffman said. “We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a place for this kind of political hate.”
Search for Boelter continues 'as long as we need to,' says Sibley County sheriff
When officials found a car linked to Boelter 10 hours ago in Sibley County, it seemed like a significant breakthrough. But a massive search has not located the man accused of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers yesterday, Sibley County Sherriff Patrick Nienaber said.
The search will continue “as long as we need to, as long as we believe that there’s reason that he might be in the area,” Nienaber said in an interview this afternoon.
Authorities discovered the car in a densely wooded area today, Nienaber said. He said that the search near the vehicle is now complete but that the suspect has yet to be found.
Somewhere around 150 to 200 officers were involved in the search today, Nienaber said.
“We are doing the best that we can. This is not a fast process,” he said. “Everybody, including myself, would like this to be done quickly, but we need to do it properly.”
Officials lack key information that could lead them to Boelter.
Logically, Nienaber said, finding a car and a hat connected to the suspect in the area suggests he was present at least earlier this morning. Beyond that, however, there is little to indicate where he might be.
“We have no more information since then to tell us if he’s still in the area,” Nienaber said. “That’s been 10-plus hours since that was located. So we don’t know where he is.”
Neighbor on edge as suspect reportedly lived just across the street
Several vehicles drove past the boarded-up home today to get a glimpse of the house where Vance Boelter often stayed. Neighbors went about their routines — one barbecuing for her children, while another was mowing his lawn.
But living near a suspect wanted in a murder case has already taken its toll.
“I’m terrified, yes, I’m scared,” said Kameko White, 33, who lives directly across the street from where Boelter sometimes resided. “I have a killer who lives across the street.”
White said she was trying to process the shooting, having seen him just days earlier, smoking a cigarette.
"He clearly snapped and he’s on the run," White said.
Heavy law enforcement presence in Green Isle, where search continues
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles converged on a residential area in Green Isle, where authorities found a car and a cowboy hat believed to belong to the suspect.
State troopers, local sheriff's agencies, SWAT vehicles and ambulances were spotted in the area. NBC News encountered a caravan of vehicles headed to the scene earlier today.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles converged Sunday on a residential area in Green Isle, Minn. Debra Jones / NBC News
Rep. Melissa Hortman remembered as a trailblazing public servant
Minnesota's House Democratic Farmer-Labor Party caucus yesterday remembered state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a fellow member, as “an incredible leader who dedicated her life to public service” and had a “determination to improve people’s lives.”
Hortman, who was 55, was first elected to the state House in 2004 and was speaker from 2019 to 2025.
She worked closely with Gov. Tim Walz, who called her a “great leader” and a friend yesterday.
“A formidable public servant and a fixture of the state Capitol, Melissa Hortman woke up every day determined to make our state a better place. She served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, and tirelessness,” Walz said in a statement.
Sen. Adam Schiff calls on Trump and lawmakers to stop ‘flirtation with violence’
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says in an interview on "Meet the Press" that increasingly violent rhetoric from politicians, including Trump, is an “encouragement” of political violence after the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers.
Law enforcement found suspect's wife in a car with other relatives
Boelter’s wife was found in a vehicle that authorities detained yesterday near a convenience store in the Onamia area, Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton said.
“Our role on this stop was perimeter. We did not search or question any of the occupants,” Burton said in a statement. “I was told by my staff who responded that the shooting suspects wife was in the car along with several other relatives.”
Hortman's house boarded up and surrounded by caution tape
Caution tape cordoned off Hortman’s property this morning. The front door, the windows and a garage door had been boarded up, and some debris lay in the driveway.
Boards cover the doors and windows of Rep. Melissa Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park, Minn., on Sunday. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images
Growing memorial pays tribute to Hortman and her husband
At a memorial outside the Minnesota State Capitol, a growing collection of flowers and notes has been placed at the John Johnson statue near the foot of the steps.
A photo of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, overlooks the pile of tributes.
“You were our leader through the hardest of times,” a note read. “Rest in power.”
A photograph of Sen. Melissa Hortman and her husband at a memorial outside of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Sunday. Selina Guevara / NBC News file
Selina Guevara / NBC News
Selina Guevara / NBC News
Selina Guevara / NBC News
Final photo shows Melissa Hortman smiling with colleagues
A cellphone photo of Melissa Hortman smiling while surrounded by colleagues is among the last images taken of her. In it, Hortman poses with a group of state legislators at a fundraiser Friday night.
Melissa Hortman, third from left in the front row, with a group of state legislators at a fundraiser Friday. Courtesy Ron Harris
Emergency alert issued where suspect's belongings were found
An emergency alert has been issued in Sibley County, where some of the suspect's belongings have been found.
NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported that authorities located Boelter's vehicle and asked residents in the area to keep their doors locked and their vehicles secured. It also said law enforcement will be asking to search homes in the area.
Suspect texted ‘I may be dead shortly,’ his roommate says
David Carlson said he doesn’t think anyone who knew Vance Boelter could believe he is wanted by authorities on suspicion of the attacks.
“I don’t know why he did what he did,” Carlson told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis. “It’s just it’s not Vance. ... He had lots of friends, trust me, and I wish I could have been there to stop him.”
Boelter was a supporter of President Donald Trump, KARE reported Carlson as saying. Carlson said he wasn’t aware of his friend’s stance on local politicians, according to the station.
Carlson also shared concerning text messages that Boelter had sent him earlier in the day that had Carlson calling authorities in concern. He choked up with emotion reading the messages aloud to reporters.
“I may be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know that I love you guys both, and I wish it hadn’t gone this way,’” the messages said, according to Carlson’s reading.
“I don’t want to say anything more and implicate you in any way, because you, you guys don’t know anything about this,” it continued. “But I love you guys, and I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”
Manhunt underway for the suspect
The search for Vance Luther Boelter, the man accused of fatally shooting Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and injuring state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, is entering its second day. Two people familiar with the investigation tell NBC that the shooter left behind a list “several dozen names long” that includes politicians and non-politicians.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar says authorities believe suspect in ‘politically motivated assassination’ is still in the Midwest
WASHINGTON — Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that authorities believe Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old suspect in a pair of “politically motivated” shootings, is still in the Midwest, noting that “he may be” in Minnesota and that authorities have put out an alert in South Dakota.
“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone is on edge here because we know that this man will kill at a second.”
A Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were killed yesterday morning in what Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said appears to be “a politically motivated assassination.”
State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were severely injured, Walz said. Authorities have identified the shooting suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter of Minnesota.
