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Man suspected of shooting Minnesota lawmakers in custody, surrenders | AP
News
By STEVE KARNOWSKI, OBED LAMY, MIKE BALSAMO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER


BELLE PLAINE, Minn. (AP) - The man suspected of killing a Minnesota
lawmaker and wounding another crawled to officers in surrender Sunday
after they located him in the woods near his home, bringing an end to a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge.

Vance Boelter was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two
of attempted murder. He is accused of posing as a police officer and
fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.

"One man's unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,"
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference after Boelter's arrest.

The search for Boelter was the "largest manhunt in the state's history," Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said. It began when Brooklyn Park officers went to check on Hortman's home and saw her husband gunned down
before the shooter fled.

Authorities on Sunday located a vehicle Boelter was using abandoned in
rural Sibley County, where he lived, and a police officer reported that he believed he saw Boelter running into the woods, Bruley said. Police set up
a large perimeter and called in 20 different tactical teams, divvying up
the area and searching for him.

During the search, police said they received information confirming
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 and taken
into custody in a field, authorities said.

Jail records show Boelter was booked into the Hennepin County Jail at 1:02
a.m. Central Time Monday and include two mug shots, one from the front and
one from the side, of Boelter wearing an orange prison shirt.

A targeted attack

Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension,
said the violence likely would've continued had Brooklyn Park offices not checked on Hortman's home, causing Boelter to flee.

The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champin early Saturday.
A criminal complaint unsealed after Boelter's arrest indicated their adult daughter called 911 just after 2 a.m. to say a masked person had come to
the door and shot her parents.

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 complaint
said.

Authorities said Boelter posed as a police officer, even allegedly
altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car.

A Sibley County Sheriff's Deputy blocks the road where the suspect
involved in the shooting of two state lawmakers vehicle was found Sunday,
June 15, 2025, in Faxon Township, Minn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

No details on motive

Authorities did not give a motive as they announced Boelter's arrest.

A list of about 70 names was found in writings recovered from the fake
police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, said two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation. The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights
advocates and information about health care facilities, according to the officials.

A Minnesota official told AP lawmakers who had been outspoken in favor of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state
workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not
clear if or how well they knew each other.

Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologize for his
actions, though he didn't say what he had done.

"I'm going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to
let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way," he
wrote in messages viewed by AP.

An escalation in political violence

The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked,
harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said
they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned.

"This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our
political differences," Walz said Sunday.

On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.

"John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to
being out of the woods," Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar
posted on social media. "He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark."

Brightly colored flowers and small American flags were placed Sunday on
the gray marbled stone of the Minnesota State Capitol along with a photo
of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including, "You
were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power."

Pam Stein came with flowers and knelt by the memorial. An emotional Stein called Hortman an "absolute powerhouse" and "the real unsung hero of
Minnesota government."

___

Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, and Balsamo and Durkin Richer
reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago and Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
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