Senior US state lawmaker and spouse victims of ‘politically motivated’ murder

The gunman, who reportedly impersonated a police officer, also injured another legislator and his wife, according to local authorities

A gunman dressed as a US cop has killed a senior Democrat lawmaker in the state of Minnesota, Melissa Hortman, and her husband, and injured another senior legislator and his wife in a separate incident, local authorities have reported.

The suspect in what Governor Tim Walz described as an “act of targeted political violence” remained at large is the subject of a massive manhunt.

Hortman and her husband were shot in their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, while Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot approximately five miles (8km) away in their home in Champlin. Investigators believe the suspect had dressed to impersonate a police officer, according to the media.

Police were called to State Senator John Hoffman’s residence in Champlin at around 2am on Saturday. Upon arrival, the officers found him and his wife shot multiple times, but alive. The couple was rushed to a local hospital.

Officers from nearby Brooklyn Park decided to check in on other local lawmakers in order to assist their colleagues. At around 3:35am, they arrived at Representative Hortman’s house and saw a dark SUV in the driveway. It had red-and-blue flashing lights on the dashboard and rear window, and resembled an unmarked police vehicle.

A white man in a black bulletproof vest and dark clothing exited the house and opened fire on arriving officers, according to reports. After a shootout, the suspect retreated back inside and fled the scene on foot through the back door.

During a search of the suspect’s car, police found a “manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said, adding that all those on the list were immediately alerted and provided with protection, where necessary.

The local authorities imposed a shelter-in-place order on the whole of Hennepin County as the police continued their search for the suspect.

Later on Saturday, the Associated Press, citing unnamed sources, claimed that the suspect had been identified as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, a private security firm employee with military training.

Commenting on the murder of Hortman and her husband, Governor Walz described the former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives as a “formidable public servant,” and vowed to “spare no resource in bringing those responsible to justice.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump similarly wrote that the perpetrator will be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”