Manhunt intensifies in US after lawmaker killed, another wounded
As the search stretched into its second day, police appeared to close in on the shooter, finding a car described as related to him, but not the man himself. PHOTO: AFP
Manhunt intensifies in US after lawmaker killed, another wounded
WASHINGTON - Police and FBI agents waged a huge manhunt on June 15 for a gunman who killed a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota in what officials called a politically motivated attack. As the search stretched into its second day, police appeared to close in on the shooter, finding a car described as related to him, but not the man himself.
America reeled from its latest spasm of political violence as lawmakers called for a return to civility in political discourse that has been overheated and angry for years.
Authorities searched for a man identified as Vance Boelter, 57, who also allegedly shot and wounded another lawmaker and his wife early on June 14 in the northern state bordering Canada.
Officials said Boelter impersonated a police officer as he came to the homes of these couples near Minneapolis and shot them, and that officers found a manifesto and a list of other lawmakers and potential targets in his car.
Boelter fled on foot after exchanging gunfire with officers after the second shooting.
On June 15, officers located another car related to Boelter in a rural area about a 90-minute drive west of Minneapolis, the Sibley County Sheriff's Office told AFP.
Residents were warned of the find and agents are scouring the area, the office said without explaining how the vehicle is related to the suspect.
Officials have issued security alerts in South Dakota and other states as the hunt proceeds, US Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said on June 15 as she mourned her slain friend, Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman.
'I am concerned about all our political leaders, political organisations,' she said.
'It was politically motivated, and there clearly was some throughline with abortion because of the groups that were on the list, and other things that I've heard were in this manifesto. So that was one of his motivations.'
As speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to January 2025, Ms Hortman was committed to legislation that protected reproductive rights in the state, local media reported.
'Bring the tone down'
America is bitterly divided politically as President Donald Trump embarks on his second term and routinely insults his opponents. Political violence is becoming more and more common.
Mr Trump himself survived an assassination attempt in 2024. An assailant with a hammer attacked the husband of then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. And Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's home was set on fire this year.
'We need to bring the tone down,' Ms Klobuchar said on CNN.
US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, himself attacked by a neighbor in 2017, told NBC 'nothing brings us together more than, you know, mourning for somebody else who's in political life, Republican or Democrats'.
On June 14, the FBI released a photo that appears to show Boelter wearing a mask as he stands outside the home of one of the lawmakers.
It is offering a US$50,000 (S$64,000) reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
The shootings came on the day a dramatic split screen showed America divided: hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country took to the streets to rally against Mr Trump as the president presided over a big military parade in Washington – a rare spectacle criticised as seeking to glorify him.
Mr Trump has condemned the killing of Ms Hortman and her husband Mark and the wounding of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
In a conversation on June 15 with ABC News, Mr Trump was asked if he planned to call Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was Ms Kamala Harris's running mate in the election Trump won in 2024.
'Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person,' the president said. 'But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too.' AFP
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