A massive two-day manhunt has finally ended with the arrest of Vance Boelter for the alleged killing of a Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker and her husband while posing as a police officer.
Boelter allegedly shot dead Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, in their home - a crime Governor Tim Walz has characterised as a "politically motivated assassination.”
Authorities said Boelter also allegedly shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away.
“One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota," Governor Tim Walz said at a news conference.
'This cannot be the norm' - Minnesota reeling after deadly shooting of Democratic state lawmakers. - Reuters
Boelter was arrested in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
“Where he was ultimately taken into custody was in a field,” said Drew Evans, superintendent of Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
He said authorities believe Boelter acted alone and that the violence likely would've continued had Brooklyn Park offices not checked on Hortman's home, causing Boelter to flee.
A criminal complaint unsealed Sunday night says Boelter, 57, faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is taken into custody. – Reuters
The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champin early Saturday. After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned of that shooting, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans’ home.
Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, the complaint says. It says they exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping the scene.
The complaint indicates the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home was called in by their adult daughter.
Mark Bruley, Brooklyn Park Police Chief, said the search for the suspect involved 20 different SWAT teams.
"There’s no question that this is the largest manhunt in the state’s history,” he said.
Authorities said Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car.
A memorial for Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at the Minnesota Capitol. – AP
On Sunday evening, US Senator Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.
“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media.
“He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. 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.”
More than 36 hours after authorities first confronted him outside Hortman's home, Boelter was still on the loose after fleeing on foot. The FBI issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction. They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings.
Law enforcement check a vehicle suspected to belong to shooting suspect Vance Boelter. – AP
Investigators found a cowboy hat near the vehicle and determined it belongs to Boelter, Evans said. Law enforcement officers were searching the area, including nearby homes.
The search was happening in rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles (80km) southwest of Minneapolis, where Boelter had a home with his wife and five children. Residents in the area received an emergency alert about the located vehicle that warned them to lock their doors and cars.
A crowd of officers were seen congregated on a dirt road near the abandoned dark sedan. Some officers broke off and walked into a wooded area off the road. The car was later towed away.
“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Senator Klobuchar of Minnesota said.
“But right now, everyone’s on edge here, because we know that this man will kill at a second.”
Evans said authorities interviewed Boelter’s wife and other family members in connection with Saturday's shootings. He says they were cooperative and are not in custody.
Minnesota police, FBI hunt suspect in shooting of Democratic state lawmakers. – Reuters
Klobuchar, a Democrat, said that authorities believe the suspect is still in the Midwest, adding that an alert had been put out in neighbouring South Dakota.
"Clearly, this is politically motivated," she said.
The suspect left behind a vehicle outside Hortman's house in suburban Minneapolis that resembled a police SUV, including flashing lights, and contained a "manifesto" and a target list of other politicians and institutions, officials said.
Authorities have not publicly identified a specific motive.
Boelter has links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to online postings and public records.
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.
Senator John A Hoffman and Representative Melissa Hortman. – AP file
ABC News, citing law enforcement officials, reported the list of targets featured dozens of Minnesota Democrats, including Walz, who was also the Democratic vice presidential candidate last year.
Around 6am Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologise for his actions, though he didn't say what he had done.
“I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way. I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused," he wrote in messages.
The killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of US political violence, including the attack on former Democratic US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during last year's presidential campaign, and an arson attack at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's house in April.
Damon Voight, who lives down the road from Boelter's house in a rural area of Green Isle, Minnesota, said his wife was afraid with the suspect on the loose.
"My wife is freaked out," Voight said. "She's like, 'we've got guns in the house, right?'."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pauses as he speaks about the killing of state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband. – AP
Outside the state capitol in St Paul, a small memorial had taken shape, with flowers, American flags and handwritten messages on yellow post-it notes.
"Justice for Melissa," read one note, with a drawing of a heart on it.
Brightly coloured flowers and small American flags were placed on the grey marbled stone of the capitol along with a photo of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including: “You were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power.”
Pam Stein came with flowers and kneeled by the memorial. An emotional Stein called Hortman an “absolute powerhouse” and “the real unsung hero of Minnesota government”.
“She had a way of bringing people to the table and getting things done like no one else could do,” said Stein, a retired lawyer.
The Hoffmans were recovering from surgery, according to their nephew, Mat Ollig.
Klobuchar said she had seen both Hortman and Hoffman at a political dinner on Friday, just hours before they were shot.
"We started out together in politics, moms with young kids, and somehow she was able to balance getting to know every door, knock on every house in her district, while raising two children – Girl Scout leader, she taught Sunday school," the US senator said of Hortman, 55.
Law enforcement officers stage less than a mile from a shooting in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. – AP
The attacks started around 2am on Saturday, when authorities said the gunman shot the Hoffmans in their home in Champlin before driving several miles to Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park.
The FBI released photos of the suspect wearing a rubber mask and a police-like uniform.
David Carlson, 59, said he has shared a house in Minneapolis with Boelter for more than a year and last saw him on Friday night. He said he received a disturbing text from Boelter.
"He said that he might be dead soon," said Carlson, who called police.
Trump has faced criticism from some opponents for using inflammatory rhetoric at times when talking about his political rivals.
"Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America," Trump said in a statement.
In one of his first moves in office earlier this year, Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.