What to know about the man accused of shooting two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers
The man accused of killing a Minnesota Democrat and wounding another went to the homes of two other legislators on the night of the shootings and intended to inflict more carnage, a federal prosecutor said Monday.
But one of the other state lawmakers was on vacation and the suspect left the other house after police arrived early Saturday, acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson said at a press conference.
The suspect, Vance Boelter, meticulously planned the attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the homes and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer just before the shootings, Thompson said.
'It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,' he said.
What charges does the suspect face?
Boelter has now been charged with murder after police arrested him Sunday near his home following a nearly two-day search.
Authorities say he also shot Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife Yvette at their home in the nearby neighbourhood of Champlin.
The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champlin early Saturday. A state criminal complaint indicated their adult daughter called 911 to say a masked person had come to the door and shot her parents.
Hoffman is chair of the Senate committee overseeing human resources spending. The couple is currently recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Hoffman also served on a state workforce development board with Boelter, who was twice appointed to the Minnesota Governor's Workforce Development Board. It was not clear if or how well the two men knew each other.
Here's what to know:
Boelter, 57, now faces both federal and state murder charges.
Minnesota does not have the death penalty. Federal law allows it to be imposed, but Thompson said that it's too early to say whether his office with seek the death penalty.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a news conference that she plans to file first-degree murder charges against Boelter. First-degree murder covers premeditated killings, and the punishment for a conviction is life in prison without parole.
Thompson said that Boelter planned his attacks carefully, researching intended victims and their families and conducting surveillance of their homes. Besides murder, the federal charges against him include stalking.
Boelter also went to the homes of two other Democratic state lawmakers, Thompson said, but one was not home and he encountered local police conducting a welfare check at the other because of the Hoffmans' shooting.
01:28
Personal life and beliefs
Authorities on Sunday spotted an abandoned vehicle that Boelter had been using in rural Sibley County, where he lived. An officer reported he believed he saw Boelter running into the woods, police said. Police called in 20 different tactical teams to search for him.
During the search, police said they confirmed someone was in the woods and searched for hours, using a helicopter and officers on foot, until they found Boelter. He surrendered to police, crawling out to officers in the woods before he was handcuffed, authorities said.
The search for Boelter was the 'largest manhunt in the state's history", Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.
Boelter is a married father with five children who owns a sprawling 3,800-square-foot house about an hour from downtown Minneapolis, the AP reported.
Friends and former colleagues interviewed describe Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church. His roommate described him as a " strong" supporter of President Donald Trump.
He held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the US was in a 'bad place' where most churches didn't oppose abortion. Videos online of Boelter show him preaching about sexuality in Africa.
But his friends also say that he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme.
'He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,' Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years, told the AP.
Second shooting
After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned that a lawmaker had been shot, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans' home.
Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, the complaint says. It says they exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping the scene. Melissa Hortman was found dead inside, the state complaint said.
Suspect in custody after shooting of Minnesota lawmakers while posing as officer
01:46
Authorities did not give a motive as they announced Boelter's arrest.
Thompson said a list of about 45 names of Minnesota state and federal elected officials were found in writings recovered from a fake police vehicle left at the crime scene and that some names appeared more than once. Authorities also have said the list included community leaders, along with abortion-rights advocates and information about health care facilities, according to the officials.
A Minnesota official told the AP that lawmakers who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Melissa Hortman was a lifelong Minneapolis-area resident who rose up to become a powerful Democratic leader in the state's deeply divided Legislature.
Elected to the Minnesota House in 2004, she helped pass liberal initiatives like free lunches for public school students in 2023 as the chamber's speaker. This year, she helped break a budget impasse that threatened to shut down state government.
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