Minnesota Assassin's Chilling Texts To Family Hours After Shooting Spree
Hours after he went on a shooting spree killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and wounding another Senator and his wife, the man sent some chilling texts to his family.
Vance Luther Boelter texted his family, "Dad went to war last night", on Saturday, federal prosecutors said on Monday. He sent the terrifying text to his wife and other family members via a group thread, The NY Post reported
"Dad went to war last night ... I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody," Boelter, 57, allegedly wrote.
In another text to his wife, he said: "Words cannot express how sorry I am for this circumstance... I don't want you guys around because there's going to be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy," according to court documents, ABC News reported.
Boelter killed House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home outside Minneapolis. The same evening, he targeted another Democrat, John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home. They survived.
Following a two-day statewide manhunt, Boelter was arrested late Sunday night. During his initial court appearance on Monday, a $5 million bond was established. He is scheduled to return to court on June 27.
Acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson described the case as "the stuff of nightmares" during a press conference, saying Boelter carefully planned his attack, investigating the victims and their families, and monitoring their houses.
He visited the senators' residences posing as a law enforcement official, an act that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called a "politically motivated assassination."
Following the "largest manhunt in the state's history," he was finally taken into custody on Sunday. According to the chief of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Boelter crawled towards officers and turned himself in at the instruction of SWAT troops.
The Hennepin County prosecutor said that Boelter would be charged with first-degree murder. The highest punishment for a conviction in Minnesota would be life imprisonment without the possibility of parole because the state does not have the death penalty, according to CNN.
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