UPDATE (Monday, June 16, 5:50 a.m. ET): Law enforcement agents on Sunday arrested Vance Boelter, the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses a day earlier. He was apprehended near his home in Green Isle, Minnesota, a small town roughly 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He is charged with four counts, including murder, in connection with the shootings.
Law enforcement agents continue to search for the Minnesota man suspected of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers early Saturday in what officials have described as “politically motivated” attacks.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home in Brooklyn Park around 3:30 a.m. local time, authorities said. He is believed to have carried out the attack after opening fire on state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their home in neighboring Champlin earlier in the morning.
The Hoffmans are being treated for gunshot wounds at a hospital and are expected to survive, authorities said.
Boelter remained at large Saturday evening, and law enforcement agencies are asking the public for help in apprehending him. If you spot him, do not approach him, as Boelter is considered “armed and dangerous”; instead call 911, officials said.
Boelter is described as 6 feet, 1 inch tall, weighing 220 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair, officials said. He was last seen Saturday morning in Minneapolis wearing a light-colored cowboy hat, a dark-colored long-sleeve coat and light-colored pants. He was carrying a dark bag, according to authorities.
Officials have said the gunman committed the attacks while dressed as a police officer wearing a badge and vest. He was equipped with a stun gun and was driving an SUV resembling a police squad car, the officials said.
The suspect is believed to have fled the scene of the Brooklyn Park shooting on foot, officials said. Local police issued a shelter-in-place order as authorities searched for the gunman.
Investigators did not know were additional people were involved in the attacks as of Saturday afternoon.
Hortman and Hoffman are members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the state’s Democratic Party. Hortman was the leader of the state House’s Democratic caucus and served as the state House speaker from 2019 until this January.
The Legislature is closely divided along party lines, with the state House evenly split between 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans. The Senate has a one-seat Democratic advantage, with 34 Democrats and 33 Republicans.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz described the shootings as “targeted” in a social media post Saturday. At a news conference later Saturday morning, he called Hortman’s death a “politically motivated assassination” and “an unspeakable tragedy.”
“Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy,” he said at the news conference Saturday. “We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
The shootings occurred hours before hundreds of “No Kings” rallies to protest President Donald Trump’s administration took place across the country Saturday.
Walz and the Minnesota State Patrol asked the public not to attend any political rallies in the state until the suspect is apprehended. In a post on X, the state patrol shared a photo of papers found in the suspect’s vehicle with the words “No Kings” written on them.
Drew Evans, superintendent of Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a news conference that officials have “no understanding that any of the ‘No Kings’ events would be targeted” but felt it necessary to “alert everybody” of the fliers as a “very active manhunt is underway and continues.”
Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution. pic.twitter.com/7hFccnrQUT
— MN State Patrol (@MnDPS_MSP) June 14, 2025
A massive military parade, coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday, rolled through the streets of Washington, D.C., on Saturday evening to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary.
Trump said in a statement earlier in the day that he has “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,” Trump said. “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!” Officials said the shooter opened fire at Hoffman’s home in Champlin, a northern suburb of Minneapolis, around 2 a.m. local time. Soon after, police decided to check on Hortman, whose home is roughly 8 miles south of Hoffman’s in Brooklyn Park. When officers arrived, they encountered a gunman and exchanged fire with him before he fled, officials said. David Carlson told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis that he’s a very close friend of Boelter’s and received a text message from him around 6 a.m. local time Saturday, hours after the shootings. Carlson said Boelter wrote in his text that he “may be dead shortly” and that he was “sorry for all the trouble this has caused.” Carlson said Boelter voted for Trump and was a strong supporter of the president, KARE reported. Carlson did not appear to specify in which elections Boelter supported Trump. A website for Praetorian Guard Security, a Minnesota-based security company, lists Boelter as its director of security patrols. The site describes Boelter’s involvement with “security situations” in “Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.” According to the bio, Boelter “brings a great security aspect forged by both many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military. He has worked for the largest U.S. oil refining company, the world’s largest food company based in Switzerland and the world’s largest convenience retailer based in Japan.” Documents available online indicate Boelter was appointed by then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 to serve on the Governor’s Workforce Development Council, which includes dozens of members across the political spectrum. Walz reappointed him to the council in 2019 for a term that expired in 2023. In the documentation for both appointments, Boelter is listed as having no political affiliation. The suspect may have been wearing a long-sleeve blue shirt similar to a police uniform with a vest, suggesting he was impersonating a police officer, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. Investigators are examining a list left behind by the suspect that includes the names of dozens of politicians and people outside of politics, two people familiar with the investigation told NBC News. A source said earlier in the day that the list named prominent individuals in Minnesota who have been outspoken in their support of reproductive rights. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., told The Star Tribune around 12 p.m. local time that she was sheltering in place with “armed folks in my driveway right now.” She said she had already increased security measures on her own before the shooting. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen a rise in political threats of violence for some time now,” she said. “I don’t do public events anymore without private security or police presence in my own district. … It’s just become part of what we do.” This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Hayley Miller is the senior breaking news and blogs editor for MS NOW.
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