Suspect Arrested in Shooting of Former Minnesota House Speaker
Vance Boelter, 57, the man suspected of dressing as a police officer and shooting and killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, along with another legislator and his wife, has been arrested after a two-day manhunt.
“After a two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, announced Sunday night.
He praised law enforcement, who “spent Father’s Day away from their families to deliver justice for Melissa and Mark Hortman, and their children, who spent this Father’s Day alone.”
The suspect reportedly carried out the shootings in Champlin and Brooklyn Park, northern suburbs of Minneapolis. Hortman, a Democrat, died at the scene, yet Walz announced that state Sen. John Hoffman, another Democrat Boelter allegedly shot, is out of surgery and moving toward recovery.
“This cannot be the norm,” Walz declared. “It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences.”
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said that Boelter had been charged with the Hortmans’ murders as well as the shooting of the Hoffmans. He said the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office are reviewing whether to bring additional federal charges.
Law enforcement discovered a list of targets, mostly Democrats and abortion centers, in Boelter’s car, along with a stack of “No Kings” flyers. Minnesota State Patrol urged residents to avoid the “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump Saturday out of an abundance of caution.
In a press conference Saturday, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley described the scene at Hortman’s house. Brooklyn Park police confronted a man who appeared to be a police officer.
“When our officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers,” Bruley said. “It was not a real police officer. This is somebody that clearly had been impersonating a police officer, again using the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.”
In the Sunday night press conference, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson commented on Boelter’s strategy.
“Boelter exploited the trust our uniforms are meant to represent,” Jacobson said. “That betrayal was deeply disturbing to those of us who wear the badge with honor and responsibility.”
Bruley, the Brooklyn Park police chief, praised law enforcement’s performance in the two-day manhunt.
“There’s no question that this was the largest manhunt in the state’s history,” he said. He mentioned that 20 SWAT teams assisted in the capture of Boelter, involving local, state, and federal law enforcement teams.
“I believe that the state of Minnesota, the City of Brooklyn Park, should be extremely proud,” Bruley added.
Yvette Hoffman, Sen. John Hoffman’s wife, supports kindergarten teachers and students at Fernbrook Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The Fernbrook Parent Teacher Organization launched a GoFundMe campaign to support both the senator and his wife in their recovery, and the campaign has raised more than $100,000 as of Monday morning.
“This unconscionable act of violence has shaken us all to our core,” the organization wrote. “Beyond the physical injuries, Mrs. Hoffman and Senator Hoffman are facing immense emotional trauma and an uncertain road to recovery. The medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and the need for security measures will undoubtedly be expensive. On top of this, their lives have been irrevocably altered, and they will need time to heal, both physically and emotionally, without the added burden of financial stress.”
