Minnesota shooting suspect ‘stalked victim like prey' as feds reveal chilling details of killings and announce charges
The gunman accused of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and wounding a second lawmaker and his spouse will face federal charges.
The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joe Thompson, said on Monday during a press conference that 'It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares.'
'In the early morning hours of June 14, Boelter went to the homes of four Minnesota state politicians with the intent to kill them,' he added.
Thompson 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 added.
Thompson said Boelter had the names of 45 Minnesota state and federal elected officials in notebooks in his car.
The suspect also faces first-degree murder charges, the Hennepin County prosecutor, Mary Moriarty, said during a separate press conference on Monday. The charges carry a mandatory sentence of life without possibility of parole. The suspect, Vance Boelter, has already been charged with second-degree murder; however, first-degree charges include a grand jury indictment.
Moriarty asked that people cease sharing 'misinformation and conspiracy theories' regarding the shooting. She added during the press conference that we're living in a 'frightening time' and that political violence is 'prevalent.'
'We cannot continue on this way,' added Moriarty.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt told the assembled press corps that Boelter inflicted 'unimaginable' damage to the community.
'These violent acts strike at the very heart of our democracy,' said Witt.
The suspect is alleged to have shot and killed the former statehouse Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. Boelter also faces allegations that he shot a second lawmaker and his spouse, who both survived the ordeal. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette are expected to make a full recovery, Witt noted.
Officials didn't state whether Boelter has spoken about a possible motive. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans noted that authorities would continue to collect information, regardless of whether Boelter chooses to cooperate.
Evans added that there was no 'prolonged negotiation' needed during the apprehension of Boelter late on Sunday.
The shooting prompted the largest manhunt in the history of the state. It came to an end on Sunday after SWAT teams used drones to track Boelter as he was crawling through shrubs in a rural area southwest of Minneapolis.
Investigators found the suspect's car and hat in Sibley County, roughly an hour away from the shootings. A resident made the authorities aware after spotting the suspect on a trail camera.
Boelter surrendered close to the town of Green Isle, where he had a home alongside his wife and children. He's now held at the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
The View rips Sen. Mike Lee over Minnesota shooter tweets, says he'd ‘be fired instantly' anywhere else
Tearing into Mike Lee on Monday for his tweets that seemingly blamed the politically motivated shootings of Minnesota lawmakers on 'Marxists' and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the hosts of The View said that if the GOP senator had 'any other job,' he would 'be fired instantly.' Less than a day after saying he condemned 'political violence' following the fatal shooting at a protest in his home state of Utah, Lee took to his personal X account labeled @BasedMikeLee – where he regularly peddles far-right disinformation – to mock the tragedy and point the finger at Democrats and leftists. One tweet, for instance, included an image of alleged shooter Vance Boelter in a mask outside one of his targets' homes alongside the caption: 'Nightmare on Waltz Street.' Another post, which Lee had pinned to his profile until Monday, suggested that left-wing ideology was to blame for the murders. 'Marxism is a deadly mental illness,' he wrote. 'This is what happens when Marxists don't get their way.' While the Republican senator was hardly alone in pushing baseless conspiracy theories that Boelter – who has been identified as a Trump supporter with heavily conservative views – was a far-left Walz ally, Lee's tweets have drawn more mainstream attention largely because he is a member of Congress. 'I have condemned what Mike Lee did here at home, and I will speak to him about this when I return,' Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), whose name was included on one of Boelter's lists, told MSNBC. 'And what I'm going to tell him is: This isn't funny.' Klobuchar, who was close friends with slain former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, added that there was 'no Father's Day for' the two children the deceased couple left behind. With others calling for Lee to apologize and even resign, the women of The View blasted the conservative lawmaker for his conspiracy-mongering while expressing concern about the 'deep political polarization' and demonization across partisan divides. 'It's like a slow dehumanization of the other – whatever that other is to someone,' co-host Sara Haines said. 'In this instance, it's a political division. And I think people need to check in with themselves. When they hear someone is attacked in their house, if their first response is not feeling gutted and heartbroken without any identifiers… if that was not your first response, you are part of the problem.' Singling out Lee, Haines said he was 'either mocking what happened' in Minnesota or suggesting something else entirely. After reading off both of his tweets, she noted that Lee sent them out 'within hours of the loss of life and the brutal attack in these people's homes.' Then, in a somewhat ironic twist considering the recent situation with her now-former ABC News colleague Terry Moran, Haines said that Lee would find himself on the unemployment line if he made these posts anywhere else. 'In any other job, you would be fired instantly,' she declared. 'I don't know what is wrong with our government that someone is not immediately removed or punished.' Moments later, meanwhile, longtime host Whoopi Goldberg said she was 'not going to pull' her punches while also taking House Speaker Mike Johnson to task for his saying last week that Gavin Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered' after the president suggested the California governor should be arrested amid Los Angeles' anti-ICE protests. 'What are you doing? Y'all are saying we need to come down on the rhetoric and stop doing it, then you don't,' she exclaimed. 'I'm putting this in your hands. I'm putting this in the hands of the people who are supposed to be representing us.' Goldberg added: 'If you are not going to represent us, then don't run for office because this is not the way to do it … If your first response is not, 'What the hell is going on?' then you should not be running for anything.' Authorities say that Boelter – who also shot and injured State Sen. John Hiffman and his wife Yvette – 'stalked his victims like prey' and 'shot them in cold blood' while disguised as a police officer. Prosecutors added that while Boelter listed the names of 45 Minnesota state and federal elected officials in notebooks in his car, and he clearly only targeted Democrats, the motivation behind the 'political assassination' wasn't apparent yet. 'I have not seen anything involving some sort of political screed or manifesto that would clearly identify what motivated him,' Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joe Thompson said at a Monday press conference.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Police called to man's home 'several times' before his murder
Police were contacted about an elderly man who was murdered by a woman living with him seven times in two years before he was found dead, an inquest has Spooner, known to his family as Baz, was attacked by Sarah Hansford in May 2023, a then 44-year-old who befriended him, moved in with him and took his money to fund her drug pleaded guilty to his murder in December and received a life Monday an inquest heard how police were called to numerous incidents at Mr Spooner's Nottingham address, including reports of threats of violence and theft in the year before his murder. Hansford had been released on licence while serving a sentence for assaulting her grandfather - who she had extorted for money - when she met 74-year-old Mr of the conditions of her licence was she was not allowed to contact her 2023 Hansford stabbed Mr Spooner to death before dumping his body in the cellar of his home. The veteran, who served in the Royal Signals Regiment for 12 years, was found by police nearly two weeks later under "cardboard" and "clutter" at the flat in Forest Fields. The inquest heard Hansford was considered a "high risk of harm" to the public at the time of her release in that, when probation services became aware she had befriended Mr Spooner, no further action was was initially staying at an "approved premises" - a halfway house for offenders released on licence - but was asked to leave in December 2020, due to concerns she was not following rules and over issues with other was staying at a different accommodation in April 2021 when probation services learned she had met Mr evidence, head of East Midlands probation services Becky Bailey, said: "The [probation] practitioner did identify some concerns but there's nothing on the record to suggest any further action was done."In July 2021, while still on licence, she told a practitioner she was "staying with an older bloke across the road from where she had been", even though she was still able to access the approved court heard it was standard practice for the probation service that the accommodation of an offender on licence would to be assessed but Ms Bailey said "it doesn't seem that the formal assessment of the accommodation happened". Timeline of incidents The inquest heard Nottinghamshire Police was called to or made aware of seven incidents involving Hansford in relation to Mr Spooner between May 2021 and May Supt Paul Lefford said officers dealing with safeguarding documents in relation to Mr Spooner would have been aware Handford was an detailed a number of incidents police responded to in court:5 May 2021 -Mr Spooner flagged down an officer on duty attending another incident to say Hansford had stolen money from him. He said she had knocked on his door asking for money and he ended up withdrawing cash from a cash machine for her. 12 June 2021 - A police officer followed up with Mr Spooner about the previous incident but he said it was "misunderstanding and now no longer wanted police involvement".27 August 2021 - It was reported to police by a neighbour of Mr Spooner that Hansford had knocked on their door asking for money and assaulted them. The neighbour directed police to Mr Spooner's address, having recognised she was staying there. September 2021 - Following the incident in August, police made a public protection notice (PPN) - a document police use and share to record safeguarding concerns about an individual - over concerns Mr Spooner was being exploited. This PPN was shared with Nottingham City Council. 17 October 2022 - Police were called to Mr Spooner's address, to reports of threats of violence and that an iPad had been stolen. September 2022 - Police were called to concerns that Mr Spooner's phone was taken. Officers attended and the phone was returned. 15 May 2023 - Mr Spooner attended a police station and told officers Hansford had been "taking money from him for a long time" but that he "didn't want to support a prosecution against her". Hansford was subsequently removed from the property along with her belongings. Another referral was made to the council via a PPN. Later in May 2023 Hansford murdered Mr Spooner. 'Family wanted conviction' The court heard in the days after Mr Spooner was murdered, on 2 June, two social workers from Nottingham City Council attended his home following a referral that was made to the authority by police in May. Julie Sanderson, head of adult safeguarding and quality assurance at the council said Hansford had opened the door to the social workers."They were very concerned about Hansford's behaviour - she said she was away," Ms Sanderson said. She added that in their notes shared with police, one of the social workers wrote "I think you should record Baz as a missing person but that's your call". The court also heard the council was not made aware Hansford was an offender or of her risk to the public. An earlier referral from the police had been forwarded to the council's modern slavery team in September 2021, but no further action came from that. In statements read to the court by Mr Spooner's sister Valerie McMahon and his nephew Darren McMahon he was described as a "very mild mannered and timid" man. The family said in a statement read by a family liaison officer: "The family wanted a criminal conviction for Hansford and that is what they got. "They do not hold anyone else to blame. "If mistakes were made they hope learning has come from so that his death isn't in vain." Coroner Nathanael Hartley is due to conclude the inquest on Tuesday.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Minnesota suspect attempted to kill two other state lawmakers, officials say
A man who is accused of killing a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, and injuring another state lawmaker and his wife, allegedly attempted to kill two other state lawmakers, Minnesota officials said on Luther Boelter, 57, who is charged with fatally shooting Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democrat, and her husband, Mark, visited the homes of three other state lawmakers in "truly chilling" attacks, US Attorney Joseph H Thompson Boelter, who police said researched the victims and their families beforehand, allegedly had planned for a larger scale attack, which police appeared in court on Monday afternoon to face six federal charges, and possibly the death penalty, if he is found guilty. Mr Boelter was wearing an orange jumpsuit when he arrived in court in St. Paul on Monday afternoon. He said he cannot afford a lawyer and will have a federal defence lawyer. At the brief hearing, Mr Boelter said he has seven cars, $20,000-30,000 in savings and makes about $540 per a press conference on Monday officials walked through the early hours of Saturday morning in the suburbs of Minneapolis when the Hortmans were killed, and John Hoffman, a Minnesota state senator, and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were shot multiple times. They also announced that Mr Boelter faces six federal charges, some of which make him eligible for the death penalty. At the federal level, he faces two counts of stalking, two counts of murder, and two firearms-related at the state level Mr Boelter is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder at the state said that Mr Boelter arrived at the Hoffman home disguised as a police officer in a large black car with emergency lights on the vehicle. Mr Boelter was wearing a "hyper realistic silicon mask" when he rang the doorbell and shouted "this is the police, open the door".Thompson said authorities have a clear picture of what happened because the Hoffmans have a security camera outside their front door. When the Hoffmans opened the door, Mr Boelter shined a flashlight at the couple. Mr Boelter told the couple there was a shooting reported in the house and lowered his flashlight, Thompson said. The couple then realized he was not a police they attempted to push him out, he allegedly fired at the couple multiple times, Thompson said, then fled the scene and the couple's daughter Hope called Hoffman was shot eight times and John Hoffman was shot nine times. Both remain in hospital, though Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has said they are expected to make a full recovery. After allegedly shooting the Hoffmans, Mr Boelter drove to another state representative's home and rang the doorbell there, Thompson state representative was not home, Thompson said, noting that she and her family were on vacation. Authorities did not reveal her then drove to a third lawmaker's home, allegedly targeting them, Thompson said. Officials did not reveal the name of that state lawmaker, said an officer pulled up next to Mr Boelter in his vehicle and assumed he was a police officer, dispatched to the scene to perform a wellness check on that lawmaker. When the officer asked Mr Boelter what he was doing, he simply stared straight ahead, Thompson said, and Mr Boelter went on to the Hortman residence. What we know about the Minnesota shootingsMinnesota assassination survivor and husband shot 17 times He is accused of arriving at the Hortman home, and allegedly shooting and killing Melissa and Mark Hortman. Police said they found him at that residence and engaged fire before Mr Boelter fled. After he fled, police embarked on a two-day search for Mr Boelter before finding him late Sunday night in a wooded rural area west of Minneapolis, where he surrendered peacefully, eventually crawling towards officers, police said Mr Boelter had "planned his attack carefully". "He conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes about the location of their homes," he said of finding his car, officials discovered five more firearms including assault-style rifles, large quantities of ammunition and a list of more than 45 Minnesota state and federal elected officials, including Melissa Bruley, police chief from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, said the officers who arrived at the Hortman home "foiled" a larger plan. They "essentially took (Mr Boelter's) vehicle away from him, which involved all his maps, all his names, all his weaponry", Mr Bruley said."I would be very scared what it would look like over the next few hours ahead had we not done that," he said."It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life," Thompson said at the Monday press conference. "It's only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country, and that's a trend that's been increasing over in recent years, and that's unfortunate.I hope it is a wake up call to everyone that people can disagree with you without being evil or needing to be killed or hurt."Mr Boelter is scheduled to return to court for his next hearing 27 June.
