The man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and wounding another and his wife is in custody following a nearly two-day manhunt that followed a shocking streak of political violence.
Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of fatally shooting Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as shooting Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their respective homes on Saturday in what has been described as a “politically motivated” attack.
Boelter was armed when he was captured in rural Green Isle, Minnesota late Sunday night. He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.
“The face of evil,” Ramsey County Sheriff's Office wrote in a social media caption alongside a photograph of the suspect surrounded by heavily armed law enforcement officers.
“After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” the office said. “Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer.”
Boelter appeared to be impersonating a police officer when he arrived at the home of Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in Champlin shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday, according to a criminal complaint unsealed after his arrest.
He knocked on the door and announced himself as a police officer before entering the house, the complaint says.
The first 911 call came from the Hoffmans’ children, according to the complaint.
Officers were then dispatched to the homes of other lawmakers, including to the home of Rep. Hortman in nearby Brooklyn Park.
When officers arrived at 3:55 a.m., they found a Ford SUV with “police style lights” and “immediately” recognized the suspect, according to the complaint.
Officers then saw him fatally shoot Mark Hortman at the front door of the home.
Police then exchanged gunfire with the suspect as he fled inside.
Melissa Hortman is among the state’s top Democratic officials and the former state Speaker of the House. She and her husband Mark died from “multiple gunshot wounds,” according to law enforcement officials.
Officers discovered “at least three AK-47 assault rifles” and a 9mm handgun “as well as a list of names and addresses of other public officials” in a car at the scene of the shootings.
They also recovered a ballistic vest, another 9mm firearm, a mask, and a gold police-style badge, the complaint says.
State Sen. Hoffman was shot nine times and “is closer every hour to being out of the woods” while recovering in the hospital, his wife Yvette told Senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
Yvette Hoffman was shot eight times, she said.
They are both “incredibly lucky to be alive,” she shared in a message to Klobuchar.
Law enforcement agencies spent nearly 48 hours searching for Boelter, with more than 100 agents deployed across the state for what Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley called the “largest man-hunt in state history.”
On Sunday morning, officials located a vehicle they believed belonged to Boelter on the side of the highway in Sibley County.
Police descended on a wooded area in Green Isle on Sunday night after a Sibley County resident reported that their trail camera captured an image that “was consistent with Boelter” around 7 p.m., according to The Star Tribune.
Boelter then “crawled” to law enforcement teams who converged on the area, Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Colonel Jeremy Geiger said during a press conference Sunday night.
“There was no use of force by any member of law enforcement that was out there, and the suspect was taken into custody without any use of force,” he added.
While a motive has not yet been released, law enforcement officials said they discovered what appeared to be list of other Democratic lawmakers, officials and members of organizations that have advocated for abortion rights.
A longtime friend and roommate of Boelter told reporters that he held extremely anti-abortion views and had recently been experiencing some financial issues.
In remarks following the arrest, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned political violence and urged Americans to “recommit to the core values of our country.”
“This cannot be the norm,” he said. “It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences ... It's not about hatred. It's not about mean tweets. It's not about demeaning someone. It's leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency. That was taken from us in Minnesota.”
Minnesota public safety commissioner Bob Jacobson said the suspect “exploited the trust our uniforms are meant to represent.”
In a statement, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth said she is “grateful that this nightmare has come to an end with the suspected murderer captured alive so he can be charged, prosecuted, and punished for the horror he has wrought on our state.”
State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy expressed her “profound gratitude” for law enforcement officers for protecting lawmakers while Boelter remained at large.
