‘You’re not a cop!’ Sen. Hoffman and his wife shouted before the shooting
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson said Vance Boelter arrived at the Champlin home of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, in a black SUV with emergency lights turned on and a license plate that read “police. ”
Boelter was allegedly disguised as a police officer and dressed in a black tactical best and body armor. Thompson said he was carrying a flashlight and a handgun and wearing a “hyper realistic” silicone mask.
Boelter allegedly knocked on the Hoffmans’ front door and repeatedly shouted that he was the police. When the Hoffmans opened the door, Boelter allegedly shined the flashlight in their faces and said that a shooting had been reported in the house, Thompson said.
The couple realized he was not an officer when he lowered the flashlight.
“They shouted, “You’re not a cop! You’re not a police officer!” Thompson said. “Boelter then announced ‘this is a robbery’ and forced himself into their home.”
Thompson said the senator tried to push Boelter out of the home. Boelter is accused of repeatedly shooting the senator and his wife before fleeing.
“Sen. Hoffman had a security camera. I’ve seen the footage from that camera, and it is chilling,” Thompson said.
Federal charges filed against suspect
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Multiple federal charges were filed against Boelter, including two counts of stalking and two counts of murder.
He was also charged with shooting the Hortmans and Hoffmans using a firearm, said Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota.
When asked if they will seek the death penalty, Thompson said, “It’s too early to tell, that is one of the options for several of the charges.”
Suspect ‘stalked his victims like prey’
Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, said Boelter “stalked his victims like prey.”
“He went to their homes, held himself out as a police officer and shot them in cold blood,” he said at a news conference.
Thompson said it’s “no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares.”
Suspect ‘gave up peacefully’ before arrest, authorities say
The suspect “cooperated with law enforcement and gave up peacefully,” authorities said at a news conference.
Law enforcement was led to Sibley County after receiving information about a vehicle that was recovered. They then received additional information that provided confirmation he was in the area.
“They were able to close in, and when we say he was crawling towards us, these were in response to commands by the SWAT teams that were on scene as they were working in coordination with each other,” an official said.
Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will seek first-degree murder charges
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office confirmed multiple charges have been filed against Vance Boelter, and it will seek first-degree murder charges. He was charged via a warrant issued nationwide with two counts of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree attempted intentional murder.
The second-degree murder charge was used to secure the warrant “as quickly as possible,” the attorney’s office said in a news release.
Employer remembers Mark Hortman for his ‘kindness and generosity’
“We are heartbroken by the loss of our friend and colleague, Mark Hortman, and his wife, Melissa,” a spokesperson for nVent Electric said in a statement. “Mark was a valuable member of our Twin Cities-area team and worked closely with colleagues globally, across nVent.”
They said his loss will be felt “company-wide” and remembered him for his “intelligence, kindness and generosity.”
“We offer our condolences to Mark and Melissa’s children, family and friends. Our nVent family will support and care for them and our community during this difficult time,” the spokesperson said. “We also send our thoughts and wishes for continued recovery to Minnesota State Senator, John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette.”
Official says killing of Speaker Melissa Hortman appears to be ‘related to her work’
The ongoing investigation into the killing of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, is looking into whether the shooting was politically motivated and specifically in response to her work.
Vance Boelter, who is accused of the killings, as well as the nonfatal shooting of state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, was captured by police last night after a massive two-day manhunt.
Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told NBC’s “TODAY” show this morning: “That is a motive that we need to look into…. we’re certainly looking into whether or not this is related to their work, but it certainly would appear so.”
Jacobson wouldn’t say whether Boelter was cooperating with detectives or if a motive had been established.
“I can’t get into the details of any interviews with Mr. Boelter at this time, but just know that we are talking to witnesses and we continue to talk to the victims of this, and we’re certainly working to get more information from Mr. Boelter,” Jacobson said.
The commissioner did, however, confirm that law enforcement pulled over and interviewed Boelter’s cooperative wife without providing any further details.
Neighbor heard gunfire that injured John and Yvette Hoffman
Reporting from GREEN ISLE, Minnesota
A neighbor of state Sen. John Hoffman told NBC that he heard the gunfire that injured the legislator and his wife, Yvette Hoffman.
“I heard a ‘pow-pow, pow-pow-pow,” Clarence Shaffer said. “I saw a dark black car backing out of the Hoffmans’ driveway.”
Yvette Hoffman said in a statement overnight from the hospital: “John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
After a two-day manhunt, Vance Boelter was arrested and faces charges in connection with the shooting last night, and is charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Melissa and Mark Horton.
‘An incredible woman’: Sen. Klobuchar on slain Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., joined “Morning Joe” to discuss the killings of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.
She described Hortman as a committed mother and community leader who was at heart of positive change.
“She became what many are saying, including Republicans in our state, one of the most consequential speakers of the house in Minnesota history,” she said, pointing to legislature on school lunches and paid family leave.
Suspect charged in connection with the murder of Melissa and Mark Hortman
Vance Boelter has been arrested and charged with four counts in connection with the killing of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, as well as the attack on state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman.
“He is charged in the cases at this time with the murders of speaker Hortman and her husband, Mark. Hortman also with the shootings in John Hoffman and Yvette Hoffman for those crimes and will be moving forward,” Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told a late night press conference.
Evans added that his team was in contact with the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office who he said were examining whether to bring their own additional charges.
Boelter to appear in court on four murder charges today
The suspect alleged to have killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, will appear in court in Minneapolis today at 1.30 p.m. local time.
He faces four counts of murder, two of which relate to the shooting of state legislator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, who are recovering.
Boelter, 57, is being held on a $5 million bond and police released a mugshot of him wearing an orange jumpsuit.
How Boelter was captured: Authorities explain the conclusion to a massive manhunt
The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found last night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.
Law enforcement officers numbering nearly 200 — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County, about an hour outside Minneapolis, starting yesterday morning. But the suspect may have taken advantage of rural terrain to remain hidden most of the day, authorities said.
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