Melissa Hortman and Another Minnesota Lawmaker Shot: Updates
CNN’s John Miller reports that Vance Boelter owns an armed security company called Praetorian Guard Services where he is listed as “director of security patrols.” According to the company’s website, it offers armed security for residential patrols and “we drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the U.S. Currently we drive Ford Explorer Utility Vehicles.” A police-style SUV was recovered from the scene.
The Associated Press reports that law enforcement sources have IDed the suspect as Vance Boelter, 57. Twin Cities ABC affiliate KTSP adds that:
Documents obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS show Boelter, whose current address is listed in Green Isle, Minnesota, was twice appointed to the nonpartisan Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016 under former Gov. Mark Dayton and again in 2019 under Gov. Tim Walz. His most recent term expired in January 2023.
Per a statement from organizers to the New York Times.
Only one “No Kings Day” rally in the state, in northeast Minneapolis, had been cancelled in the aftermath of the shooting prior to this. As of a half hour ago, people were still showing up to that protest.
From MPR’s obituary for the slain lawmaker, who leaves behind two children:
Hortman, 55, served as Speaker of the Minnesota House from 2019 through 2025. Over the last six months, Hortman stepped aside and agreed to serve as speaker emerita after Democrats lost the House majority in November. She helped negotiate a budget deal with Walz and Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth that was passed earlier this week.
During her two decades in elected office, Hortman positioned herself as a consensus builder who was willing to work with both political parties. But she was also responsible for ushering in key Democratic initiatives including abortion rights, universal lunch for students and gun restrictions.
Hortman grew up in Fridley and graduated from Blaine High School in 1988. She graduated from Boston University and worked in the 1990s as a political staffer for U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Al Gore.
Hortman failed in her first two attempts at political office, losing legislative races in 1998 and 2002. In 2004, she finally found electoral success by defeating a Republican incumbent. In 2006, Republicans were optimistic that they could win back the seat. She easily won reelection and won her legislative district for 11 consecutive elections.
Notes the Washington Post:
Threats against members of Congress and their families have more than doubled over the past decade, including a 2022 hammer attack against the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and a 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball practice that wounded House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) and three others.
Threats reached a “staggering” 9,400 in 2024 and are likely to increase “given the current political climate,” J. Thomas Manger, the recently retired U.S. Capitol Police chief, told lawmakers last month. Requests for additional protected events, details, security escorts, monitoring at airports, counter-electronic surveillance sweeps and home and office assessments have also climbed, as have resources for intelligence and counter-riot units.
There’s also been a spike in threats against federal judges since President Donald Trump, who himself faced two assassination attempts last year, took office for a second term.
The most recent high-profile targeting of a political figure was the Passover arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and his family in April.
The Minnesota State Patrol said in a news conference that numerous sheets of paper with “No Kings’”written on them were found in the suspect’s vehicle and asked the public not to attend the Minnesota anti-Trump events “out of an abundance of caution”:
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans stressed that there was no known threat against the protests:
We have no understanding that any of the No Kings events would be targeted. But we also find it of interest to the public that these (fliers) would be in there, and we want to alert everybody.
Indivisible, one of the organizers of the events, has already cancelled at least one No Kings protest, in Northeast Minneapolis:
But the organization’s Twin Cities chapter says it is not cancelling its event at the Minnesota State Capitol:
State and local authorities say they are offering and providing additional security to other lawmakers and officials who might be at risk.
The Senate Democrat called her “a true public servant to the core”:
Melissa was a good friend and we started in politics at the same time and were always there for each other. She was a true public servant to the core, dedicating her life to serving Minnesotans with integrity and compassion. Melissa’s legacy will endure, but today we grieve deeply. John’s and my prayers are with their children, their loved ones, and all who are mourning this devastating loss.
Said the president in a statement:
I have been briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers. Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!
Bondi also tweeted:
Neither the suspect’s identity nor his motive are yet clear. Authorities have described him as “white male, brown hair, wearing black body armor over blue shirt and blue pants and may misrepresent himself as law enforcement.”
Sometime before 2 a.m. local time Saturday, a gunman posing as a police officer targeted two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses in their homes in adjacent northern Minneapolis suburbs. State representative (and former Speaker) Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed at their home in Brooklyn Park. State Senator John Hoffman and his spouse were also shot and wounded in a separate attack at their home in Champlin. Both are Democrats (or more specifically, members of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, which is affiliated with the Democratic Party.)
In a press conference on Saturday morning, Governor Tim Walz called the attacks “an act of targeted political violence”:
My good friend and colleague Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed earlier this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination. …
My prayers also go out to state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who were each shot multiple times. The Hoffmans are out of surgery at this time and are receiving care and we are cautiously optimistic that they will survive this assassination attempt.
“Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy,” Walz said. “We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
Police in Champlin sponded to a call at the Hoffman residence around 2 a.m. Saturday. Around 3:30 a.m., Brooklyn Park police checked on the Hortman residence, where they encountered a gunman who opened fire on them. The man was impersonating a law enforcement officer. Per the Star Tribune:
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said that when officers arrived to the Hortman home, they noticed a vehicle with emergency lights what appeared to be a police officer at the door, “when our officers confronted him he immediately fired at officers and retreated back into the home.”
Bruley also said that a “manifesto” was found in the suspect’s car with a target list that included “many lawmakers and other officials”:
When we did a search of the vehicle there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials, we immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary.
A shelter-in-place order, issued early Saturday, remains in effect for Brooklyn Park. Notes MPR:
The shelter-in-place order is for a 3-mile radius from Edinburgh USA golf course in Brooklyn Park. The golf course is located just south of the State Highway 610 freeway, and west of State Highway 252. …
Anyone who believes they see the suspect should call 911. Authorities advised residents in the shelter-in-place area to not open their door to a lone police officer, saying real officers in the area were working in pairs Saturday.
