Manhunt enters second day for suspect in Minnesota lawmakers attack

Irish Times

a day ago

Minnesota police and the
FBI
kept up a massive manhunt on Saturday evening for a gunman posing as a police officer who killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband in what Governor Tim Walz called a 'politically motivated assassination.'
The suspect, identified as Vance Luther Boelter (57), also allegedly shot and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse, according to law enforcement officials and the FBI.
Law enforcement officials said the suspect abandoned a vehicle that looked like a police SUV, in which officers found a 'manifesto' and a target list of other politicians and institutions.
Boelter should be considered armed and dangerous and is believed to still be in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans told a news briefing, adding that it was too soon to determine a motive.
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He fled on foot after firing at police at the home of slain former Minnesota House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.
The suspect had links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to online postings and public records reviewed by Reuters. Mr Boelter also described himself online as a former employee of food service companies and was appointed in 2016 by Mr Walz's predecessor to the advisory governor's workforce development board, according to state records.
The man suspected of shooting two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early on Saturday had served on a state board with one of the victims, records show.
David Carlson (59) told Reuters he has been sharing a house in Minneapolis with Mr Boelter for a little more than a year and last saw him on Friday night. Then about 6am (11am GMT) on Saturday, he received a text from Mr Boelter.
'He said that he might be dead soon,' said Mr Carlson, who called police.
The list found in the vehicle abandoned by the suspect contained about 70 names, including abortion providers, and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources. Officials said the Hortmans and the other victims - state Senator John Hoffman and his wife - were on the list.
ABC News, also citing law enforcement officials, said the list included dozens of Minnesota Democrats including Mr Walz, US representative Ilhan Omar, Senator Tina Smith and Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison.
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two who served 20 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, was remembered by Mr Walz as someone with 'grace, compassion and tirelessness'.
In official government portraits, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the House, and state senator John A Hoffman. The two lawmakers were attacked by a gunman disguised as a policeman on Saturday. Ms Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their home. Image: Minnesota House, left, and Minnesota Senate via The New York Times
Mr Walz, who was Kamala Harris's Democratic vice presidential running mate in last year's election, said the gunman went to the Hortmans' residence after shooting the Hoffmans multiple times in their home in the nearby town of Champlin.
The Hoffmans underwent surgery, Mr Walz said, adding that he was 'cautiously optimistic' they would survive 'this assassination attempt.'
'This was an act of targeted political violence,' he said. 'Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.'
The shootings prompted reactions of shock and horror from Republican and Democratic politicians across the country and calls for dialing back increasingly divisive political rhetoric.
US president Donald Trump said he was briefed on the 'terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against state lawmakers'.
'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!' he said in a statement.
The FBI released photos of Boelter wearing a rubber mask in a police-like uniform and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said a 'very intuitive' police sergeant who responded to the Hoffman attack asked colleagues to 'proactively' check the Hortmans' home.
The two officers arriving at the Hortmans' residence saw a police-like vehicle with lights on and were immediately fired upon by the suspect. Mr Bruley said they returned fire, but the suspect ran. —Reuters
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