A gunman dressed as a police officer has shot dead a US politician and her husband in a “politically motivated assassination,” while a second politician and his wife were wounded in a separate attack.
"An unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota - my good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told reporters.
"Our state lost a great leader," he said. “And I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humour and a sense of service.”
Walz said that in a second attack, Senator John Hoffman and his wife, of Champlin, were shot multiple times, underwent surgery and that he was "cautiously optimistic" that they would survive "this assassination attempt."
"This was an act of targeted political violence," he said. "Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint."
Law enforcement authorities said the gunman was impersonating a police officer and escaped after exchanging fire with police who responded to the attacks.
Police first received a call at around 2am local time on Saturday morning, explaining that Mr Hoffman and his wife had been shot.
Police officers were then “proactively checking” on Mrs Hortman and had gone to visit her home when a second call came in at around 3.35am.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that when officers arrived to the Hortman home, they noticed a vehicle with emergency lights, which appeared to be a police officer at the door.
“When our officers confronted him, he immediately fired at officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect immediately retreated back into the home,” the police chief explained.
“This was not a real police officer, this was a person who was clearly impersonating a police officer wearing the trust of this badge to manipulate their way into the home,” Bruley added.
A major manhunt is now underway for the suspect, who managed to escape on foot from the scene, abandoning a vehicle in which officers found a "manifesto" listing other legislators and officials, law enforcement officials told a news conference.
President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the "terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers."
"Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!" he said in a statement.
US authorities asked residents of two Minneapolis suburbs to stay indoors as they searched for the suspected gunman and warned people not to answer the door to police unless there were two officers together.
