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A suspect in custody has been charged with murder following targeted shootings that killed one Minnesota lawmaker and injured another. Gov. Tim Walz called the shootings “politically motivated” in a news briefing on Saturday.
State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, John, were fatally shot at their home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Walz said. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded at their home in Champlin, a suburb of Minneapolis. Investigators said the shooter was dressed as a police officer.
The suspect in the Minnesota shootings, identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, was taken into custody Sunday night following a two-day manhunt. Officials said he was found hiding in the woods near his home in Green Isle, in Sibley County. He is facing first-degree murder charges for the killings of the Hortmans and attempted murder charges for the shootings of the Hoffmans.
Vance L. Boelter booking photos released on June 16, 2025.Hennepin County (Minnesota) Sheriff’s Office
Boelter served on a state board with Hoffman for more than six years, records show, and authorities investigating the shootings have now said they’re looking into whether the suspect knew Hoffman or Hortman personally. Authorities found his car on Sunday, CBS Minnesota reported.
Here’s what officials have said about the targeted attacks.
What happened at the homes of Minnesota lawmakers?
Police first responded to a call of a shooting at Hoffman’s home in Champlin at around 2 a.m. local time Saturday, Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said in the briefing. Life-saving measures were provided to Hoffman and his wife and they were taken to an area hospital, where they underwent surgery to treat gunshot wounds, Evans said.
Nine bullets hit Sen. Hoffman and eight struck his wife, Yvette, and they were both “lucky to be alive,” Yvette Hoffman told Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a text message on Sunday.
“Our family is so humbled by the love and outpouring we’ve received from everyone. John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” she wrote, in part. “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.”
After authorities learned of the shooting at the Hoffman property, Brooklyn Park police went proactively to Hortman’s home, Police Chief Mark Bruley said. Hortman’s home is about five miles from Hoffman’s.
Two Brooklyn Park police officers who went to Hortman’s home saw what appeared to be a police vehicle parked in front of the house with its emergency lights on, and a police officer leaving the house, Bruley said. The vehicle “looked exactly like an SUV squad car,” equipped with emergency lights, Bruley said. The individual was wearing a vest with a Taser, badge and other equipment, Bruley said. Bruley said the individual appeared to have knocked on the door of the home.
Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, speaker of the House, addresses the first day of the legislative session on Jan. 3, 2023, in St. Paul, Minn. Abbie Parr / AP
The Brooklyn Park officers confronted the individual, who Burley said “immediately” fired and exchanged gunshots with officers, Bruley said. The individual then retreated into the home, Bruley said. The police officers then entered the home and saw that Hortman’s husband had been shot. They attempted to render first aid, but he was pronounced dead. A drone was then used to search the rest of the home and found Hortman dead inside.
Bruley said the individual was “clearly” impersonating a police officer and had used “the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.” Doorbell camera footage from the home of one of the victims showed the suspect appearing to be wearing a mask.
A search of the individual’s vehicle found a document that named other lawmakers and officials, Bruley said. Evans said both Hoffman and Hortman were included on the list but he did not elaborate on any other names.
A stack of “No Kings” flyers was also found inside the vehicle, the Minnesota State Patrol said on social media. The flyers reference the anti-Trump protests that took place in cities nationwide on Saturday. After the shooting, statewide “No Kings” events planned for Minnesota were canceled. Law enforcement appeared concerned the suspect was planning to target the protests, and the Minnesota State Patrol asked that people planning to attend the events avoid them out of an abundance of caution.
Suspect Vance L. Boelter in custody
Investigators have identified 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as the suspect in the shootings. He was arrested near his home in Green Isle, Sibley County, on Sunday night, sources told CBS News. Multiple local police and sheriff departments, along with state and federal agencies were involved in the nearly 43-hour-long manhunt.
Investigators had been searching in the area after a vehicle belonging to Boelter was found. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that one officer thought he saw Boelter run into the woods and a large perimeter was set up. Investigators later got further information that Boelter had been seen in the woods, and multiple SWAT teams were called in, according to Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendant Drew Evans and Bruley. After authorities closed in on Boelter, he “crawled to law enforcement teams,” according to Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger.
He was armed at the time, but Boelter was taken into custody without any use of force, Geiger said.
Police said it was the largest manhunt in Minnesota history.
