FBI launches massive manhunt for Vance Luther Boelter after Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman and husband shot dead
State Senator John Hoffman and wife fighting for lives after being shot multiple times at their home
Gunman ‘impersonating police officer’ left manifesto naming other politicians who are now under protection
Trump briefed on shootings as ‘No Kings‘ anti-Trump demonstrations cancelled across Minnesota
A hunt is underway for a former Tim Walz appointee after two US politicians were targeted by a gunman ‘impersonating a police officer’ in what officials are calling a politically motivated assassination.
Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband Mark, 58, were killed at their Brooklyn Park home in the early hours of Saturday morning. State senator John Hoffman, 60, and his wife Yvette were also shot multiple times in their Champlin home but are expected to survive after undergoing emergency surgeries.
Officers are now searching for 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton in 2016 and then by Walz in 2019 to serve on the Minnesota State Governor’s Workforce Development Board. His term expired in 2023.
TIMELINE OF TERROR
The attack began around 2 a.m. local time when police responded to reports of shots fired at the Hoffman residence in Champlin. About an hour and a half later, officers who had decided to check on Rep. Hortman arrived at her Brooklyn Park home – just 8 miles away – where they encountered a man dressed as a police officer.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said the suspect, wearing blue with black body armor, opened fire on the responding officers before fleeing the scene. An SUV ‘equipped to look like a police vehicle’ with white-and-yellow lights on top and a license plate reading “police” was found abandoned at the scene.
Inside the vehicle, police discovered what they described as a “manifesto” containing an extensive list of more than 50 potential targets, including politicians, abortion rights advocates, and abortion facilities. Also found were flyers for the “No Kings” anti-Trump rallies that were planned across Minnesota on Saturday.
VICTIMS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE
Rep. Melissa Hortman, who served as Minnesota House Speaker from 2019 to 2025, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Her husband Mark died at North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale. The couple, who had been married for 31 years, leave behind two children.
Hortman, a lawyer first elected in 2004, was a prominent Democratic leader who championed reproductive rights, environmental issues, and gun control. She had attended the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner just hours before her death.
Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette are both in stable condition following surgery. A nephew confirmed they are recovering, with officials saying they are “cautiously optimistic” about their survival. The couple has one daughter.
THE SUSPECT
The FBI has placed Vance Luther Boelter on its “Most Wanted” list and is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. He is described as a white male, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing approximately 220 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Boelter was last seen Saturday morning at a Minneapolis business wearing a light-colored cowboy hat, captured on surveillance video. Authorities believe he is actively trying to flee the Twin Cities area.
At around 6 a.m., Boelter briefly returned to a north Minneapolis home where he rented a room part-time, texting his roommates: “I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly.”
Roommate David Carlson told reporters that Boelter was a Trump supporter, though Carlson did not specify in which elections. State records indicate Boelter was not registered with any political party.
SECURITY BACKGROUND
Investigators confirmed that Boelter is employed at a security firm, listed as director of security patrols at Praetorian Guard Security Services, where his wife is named president and CEO. Officials said this background may have given him “more sophistication in this kind of incident.”
In a LinkedIn post last month, Boelter said he was “looking to get back into the U.S. Food Industry” after spending three years on projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He had also worked at Minnesota funeral homes “to help pay the bills.”
POLITICAL FALLOUT
Donald Trump confirmed he has been briefed on the shooting, posting on social media that he condemned the “horrific violence” and that it “will not be tolerated.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the killings a “political assassination” and “an unspeakable tragedy,” ordering flags to fly at half-staff. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy,” he said at a press conference.
The Minnesota State Patrol urged people not to attend planned “No Kings” demonstrations against Trump’s administration across the state on Saturday “out of an abundance of caution.” Organizers subsequently cancelled all Minnesota events.
EXTENSIVE TARGET LIST
The manifesto found in Boelter’s vehicle contained names of prominent abortion rights advocates, including many Democratic lawmakers who have been outspoken about the issue. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, confirmed to Minnesota Public Radio that he was on the list.
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the state’s largest anti-abortion rights group, condemned the attacks, saying “his actions are completely antithetical to the mission of MCCL and the pro-life movement.”
ONGOING MANHUNT
The manhunt has involved “hundreds and hundreds” of law enforcement officers, including the FBI, state police, and local authorities. A shelter-in-place order that had been issued for a three-mile radius around Brooklyn Park’s Edinburgh Golf Course has since been lifted.
FBI Minneapolis special agent Alvin M Winston Sr urged the public to come forward with any information, saying “no detail is too small.” He warned that Boelter “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
POLITICAL TENSIONS
The shootings come at a time of heightened political tension in Minnesota. Democrats had complete control of state government for the last two years, but Republicans gained a temporary lead in January. House Democrats responded by boycotting the Capitol, denying Republicans a quorum, before eventually striking a deal to return.
Senator Amy Klobuchar called Hortman her “good friend,” saying: “She was a true public servant to the core, dedicating her life to serving Minnesotans with integrity and compassion. Melissa’s legacy will endure, but today we grieve deeply.”
As the manhunt continues, authorities are investigating whether Boelter knew his victims personally. Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said there was “certainly some overlap with some public meetings” between Hoffman and Boelter, but the nature of any relationship remains unclear.
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 immediately. Boelter should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.
