A mblockive search intensified Sunday for a suspect wanted in a chilling and deadly attack on Minnesota lawmakers a day earlier.
The suspect, identified by authorities as Vance Luther Boelter, 57, posed as a law enforcement officer to gain access to the victims’ homes in the pre-dawn hours on Saturday, officials said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called the attack a “politically motivated blockblockination,” said state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed, and State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times and wounded in in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, two neighboring suburban cities 10 to 20 miles outside Minneapolis.
Suspect told friend he ‘might be dead soon’
The suspect in the attacks had been seen earlier Saturday wearing a light colored cowboy hat, a dark colored long sleeved collared shirt or coat with a dark bag, police said. The FBI offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information that could lead to an arrest.
David Carlson, 59, told Reuters that he had been sharing a house in Minneapolis with Boelter, who he had known since the fourth grade, for a little more than a year and last saw him on Friday night. Then about 6 a.m. on Saturday, he received a text from Boelter.
“He said that he might be dead soon,” said Carlson, who called police.
A small memorial for senior Democratic state blockemblywoman Melissa Hortman is displayed outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on June 14, 2025.
Who is Vance Luther Boelter?
Boelter is a St. Cloud State University graduate, according to SCSU spokesperson Zach Dwyer. Boelter wrote on his LinkedIn page that he was the CEO of a company called “Red Lion Group” and that he has traveled to Congo and several other countries, but those claims have not been confirmed.
Boelter is also listed on a website of a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services, which lists him as director of security patrols. The website describes him as involved with “security situations” overseas, including Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
In 2019, Walz named Boelter and dozens of others to his Governor’s Workforce Development Board, which according to the governor’s website blockists the governor in “developing, implementing, and modifying the state plan, review of statewide policies and programs, providing recommendations on actions to align and improve the workforce development system and programs,” and other state matters.
Who were the victims of the shootings in Minnesota?
Hoffman and Hortman are both members of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette, have one child and live in Champlin, according to his lawmaker profile. He was first elected in 2012. Hortman and her husband, Mark, have two children and live in Brooklyn Park, according to her profile. She was elected in 2004.
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) is a political party exclusive to Minnesota that was formed in 1944 when the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged.
Hortman was Speaker-Emerita of the House of Representatives, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans.
Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman are shown in these undated file photos.
Hortman served her constituents with compblockion and grace, Walz said.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the dearest of friends, he said. “She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place.”
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Eduardo Cuevas; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Minnesota lawmakers’ shooting updates: Search intensifies for suspect
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