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A gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband on Saturday local time in an apparent “politically motivated assassination”, and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and law enforcement officials.
Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Senator John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address, about 15 kilometres away.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said authorities were looking for 57-year-old Vance Boelter, and he had not yet been caught.
Authorities displayed a photo of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat that was taken Saturday and asked the public to report sightings. Evans said investigators obtained video as well.
‘No Kings’ flyers
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, state records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.
Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.
“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence,” Walz, said at a news conference. “Those responsible for this will be held accountable.”
Suspect dressed as police officer
Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect’s vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol.
Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans’ home shortly after 2am, Champlin police said, and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds.
After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to check on Hortman’s home. There they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door, leaving the house.
“When officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.
Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation.
Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led House Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year’s session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power-sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to the top Republican, Lisa Demuth, and assumed the title speaker emerita.
Hortman used her position as speaker in 2023 to help champion expanded protections for abortion rights.
Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget.
