A gunman disguised as a police officer carried out a politically motivated ambush in Minnesota on Saturday, wounding Sen. John Hoffman and his wife before assassinating State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in a targeted shooting roughly 90 minutes later.
Both Democratic lawmakers were among many politicians and other officials mentioned in a “manifesto” recovered from a phony police car investigators believe the suspect used, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley.
While none of the other names had been made public, a law enforcement official told CNN the target list also included abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates and public officials, in addition to legislators from across the state. Bruley said they had all been notified and provided with appropriate security.
Officers’ search of the suspect’s vehicle also turned up flyers for the “No Kings” movement, prompting the cancellation of all related protests across Minnesota amid the ongoing manhunt for the gunman.
On Saturday afternoon, authorities confirmed they were searching for Vance Boelter, a 57-year-old who serves as director of security patrols for the armed security company, Praetorian Guard. His work is said to have required that he undergo military training. The company’s website, which lists Boelter’s wife as the president and CEO, features a photo of an SUV painted in a pattern similar to a police vehicle.
State records also show Boelter was twice appointed to state jobs by Democratic governors. He served on the same workforce development board as Sen. Hoffman, though it’s unclear if or how well they knew each other.
Both Hoffman and Hortman were shot in their homes, approximately 8 miles away from each other, in the early hours of Saturday. Officers were initially called around 2 a.m. to Hoffman’s home in Champlin, where they found the senator and his wife, Yvette, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. They have both since undergone surgery, with doctors “cautiously optimistic that they will improve.”
Authorities were proactively checking on Hortman when they encountered the gunman at her home in Brooklyn Park. They arrived on the scene around 3:35 a.m. to find what appeared to be a police cruiser already parked outside. Bruley said they approached the suspect as he exited the residence, but he “immediately” opened fire, and then retreated back into the home before fleeing the scene on foot.
The suspect at the time had been wearing a vest and a badge while carrying a taser in an apparent bid to impersonate law enforcement. He was also operating a vehicle that “looked exactly like an SUV squad car,” equipped with emergency lights, police said.
“No question, if they were in this room, you would assume they were a police officer,” Bruley told reporters, adding that the gunman used “the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.”
Inside the residence, Hortman and her husband, Mark, were both found with fatal gunshot wounds, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.
The FBI offers a reward of up to $50,000 for info leading to the arrest and conviction of Vance L. Boelter, suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses at their residences on June 14, 2025: https://t.co/XjawGOt5lq pic.twitter.com/tZ9RE97OHk
— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) June 14, 2025
By Saturday afternoon, the manhunt for Boelter had grown to span multiple agencies, including the FBI, which announced it was offering a $50,000 reward for information “leading to the arrest and conviction” of Boelter.
Gov. Tim Walz also said he had activated the State Emergency Operations Center.
Authorities earlier issued a shelter-in-place for a 3-mile radius of Brooklyn Park, alerting residents to the early morning violence. It warned of a suspect wearing black body armor over a blue shirt, and said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Minnesota State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic also urged people against attending any political protests “out of an abundance of caution,” even though authorities had not uncovered any direct evidence to suggest Boelter intended to target the “No Kings” rallies.
Gov. Walz similarly called on protesters to stand down until authorities had captured the suspect behind the shooting, which he described as an “act of targeted political violence.”
The canceled demonstrations in Minnesota were among hundreds of rallies planned in major cities across America as part of the “No Kings” movement. The nationwide event, held in protest of Trump administration policies and the “militarization of our democracy,” ran counter to the president’s multimillion-dollar military parade in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
In a statement posted on social media, President Trump said he has been briefed “on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota.” He added that “such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.”
In the hours after the shooting, lawmakers from across the state took to social media to condemn the attacks, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who decried them as a “stunning act of violence.”
“I’m thankful for all the law enforcement who are responding in real time,” she continued. “Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service.”
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said in a statement that the Capitol Police had increased security measures around Klobuchar and fellow Sen. Tina Smith, both Democrats.
“The ghastly targeted shootings of Sen. Hoffman and Rep. Hortman are not just horrific — they’re acts of political extremism and an assault on our democracy itself,” Schumer wrote on X. “This is where hate and violent rhetoric lead.”
Hortman, a legislator for nearly 20 years, served as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives for a six-year period ending earlier this year. According to her bio, she and Mark shared two children.
With News Wire Services
Originally Published: June 14, 2025 at 11:30 AM EDT
