The man wore a badge he hadn’t earned and carried a mission no one saw coming. Now, a state mourns — and hunts for answers in the chaos he left behind.
The quiet of a Minneapolis suburb was shattered on Saturday as law enforcement launched an intense manhunt for a man accused of a brazen, politically charged shooting that claimed the life of a prominent Minnesota lawmaker and left another seriously injured..
According to state authorities, 57-year-old Vance Boelter is the suspect in the fatal shootings of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, inside their Brooklyn Park residence.
The same day, Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded at their home in nearby Champlin. The two crime scenes, only nine miles apart, have been linked by what officials believe is a coordinated attack motivated by political animosity.
Governor Tim Walz described the killings as a “politically motivated assassination,” underscoring the grave implications of the violence. The FBI has issued a $50,000 reward for information that leads to Boelter’s arrest and conviction.
Boelter was last seen wearing a tan cowboy hat, captured in surveillance footage. Authorities revealed that he was impersonating a police officer during the attacks, using a vehicle equipped with emergency lights and sirens.
