A tense manhunt began on Saturday in Minnesota following shootings that left Democratic state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband dead, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife wounded in politically motivated attacks, the state’s governor said.
The assailant, identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, remains at large and is considered “armed and dangerous,” according to Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Surveillance footage reportedly spotted Boelter in the Minneapolis area Saturday morning, but authorities believe he may be attempting to flee the region.
Governor Tim Walz condemned the shootings as “targeted political violence,” emphasising the need for peaceful discourse in democracy. “We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said emotionally during a press briefing.
The attacks unfolded in two locations near Minneapolis. Hoffman and his wife were shot first at their Champlin home and survived significant injuries after surgery. Around 90 minutes later, Hortman, a former House speaker, and her husband Mark were killed at their residence in Brooklyn Park. The gunman exchanged fire with police near the second location before escaping.
Investigators believe Boelter was impersonating a law enforcement officer in both attacks. Authorities found flyers for anti-Trump protests in the suspect’s vehicle, alongside a manifesto naming multiple politicians and officials.
The shootings coincided with nationwide protests against President Donald Trump’s policies, with tensions running high across the US. An anti-Trump rally in Minneapolis was canceled following a police shelter-in-place order due to the shootings.
In response, Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the violence, vowing that those responsible would face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a dedicated public servant focused on women’s rights and clean energy. Meanwhile, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a gunshot to the head in 2011 and advocates against gun violence, expressed her devastation and called for protection of democracy from violent threats.
Governor Walz urged calm, stating the tragedy should remind all Americans that peaceful debate, not violence, is the way to resolve political differences.
