The suspect in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers appears to be a graduate of Cardinal Stritch University, a private Catholic university in the Milwaukee area that shuttered in 2023.
He also appears to have lived and worked in Wisconsin for a time.
Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed, and Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded in a shooting in the Minneapolis suburbs the morning of June 14. Both lawmakers are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party — Minnesota’s version of Democrats. The state’s governor, Tim Walz, has called the attacks “targeted political violence.”
Authorities said the suspect impersonated a police officer to enter the lawmakers’ homes in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, two neighboring suburban cities outside Minneapolis. After the shootings, the suspect exchanged gunfire with police and fled on foot.
A manhunt is ongoing for Vance Boelter, 57, according to the Associated Press, CNN and NBC News.
On his LinkedIn profile, Boelter is listed as obtaining a master of science in management degree, and a doctorate in leadership for the advancement of learning and service from Cardinal Stritch University. He reportedly earned his undergraduate degree from Minnesota’s St. Cloud University. He studied from 2008 to 2010 for his master’s, and 2011 to 2016 for his doctorate. The school, founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, was located in Fox Point.
The profile also lists him as working as an operations leader at Johnsonville, the Sheboygan Falls-based sausage company, from 2004 to 2008. Johnsonville is the largest sausage brand by revenue in the United States.
In the hours after the shooting, Wisconsin politicians expressed grief and shock, and condemned political violence.
“We are praying for the Minnesota lawmakers and their families affected by this senseless political violence and all those who are working to respond to this horrific situation,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wrote in an X post.
Wisconsin State Senate president Mary Felzkowski (R, Tomahawk) issued a statement sending prayers to both families and calling for accountability for the crimes.
“These actions will not be taken lightly, and the safety of all my colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, is of utmost importance,” Felzkowski said.
In a Saturday news release, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said, “We cannot allow this extremism to go unchecked. Justice must be served immediately. We need to come together and denounce horrific acts of violence like this before they continue to take more innocent lives and harm our communities.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin also called for an end to political violence, writing in an X post. “My heart goes out to the victims, their loved ones, and all our midwestern neighbors. Political violence like this is not who we are as a country. It’s on all of us to condemn and stop it at every turn,” she said.
Ben Wikler, the outgoing chairman of the Wisconsin Democrats, wrote on X that the state Democratic party is “sending support to those in grief and shock in our neighboring state.”
“No matter their politics, no one should have to fear for their lives in order to serve in public office,” Wikler added.
The state Democratic party is currently gathered in the Wisconsin Dells for its annual convention from June 14 to 15.
Boelter is listed on websites as the CEO of Red Lion Group and Praetorian Guard Security Services, which appear to be sister organizations and apparently offered high level security services for families and homes.
Law enforcement found a hit list in the Minnesota suspect’s car that contained nearly 70 names, according to a report from CNN. The names included abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates, and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states.
Cardinal Stritch University in Fox Point on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, shortly before it closed.
Cardinal Stritch had an enrollment of more than 6,200 when Boelter started his master’s work, and had dropped to less than 2,500 graduate and undergraduate students by the time he completed his doctorate. Like so many institutions, it struggled with fewer high school graduates to compete for, and fewer of those graduates choosing to go on to college.
By fall 2021, enrollment was under 1,400 and the school had been running in the red for several years. In April 2023, President Dan Scholz announced the school would finish the semester and close.
This story is developing and will update through the day.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who shot Minnesota lawmakers? What we know about suspect Vance Boelter
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