Gunman who shot two Minnesota lawmakers still at large as manhunt continues
Melissa Hortman, a former assembly speaker and her husband, Mark, pose for a photograph at the annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., June 13, 2025. Minnesota House DFL Caucus/Handout via REUTERS
Law enforcement establish a security perimeter near the residence of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman after Hortman and her husband, Marc, were shot and killed earlier in the day, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. A 57-year-old named Vance Luther Boelter is suspected in the double murder, which, according to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is thought to be a politically targeted assassination. REUTERS/Tim Evans
A neighborhood resident inspects tire tracks from law enforcement vehicles in the front yard of a residence associated with 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband Marc, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
Law enforcement establish a security perimeter near the residence of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman after Hortman and her husband, Marc, were shot and killed earlier in the day, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. A 57-year-old named Vance Luther Boelter is suspected in the double murder, which, according to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is thought to be a politically targeted assassination. REUTERS/Tim Evans
Police tape blocks off a street near the residence of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman after Hortman and her husband, Marc, were shot and killed earlier in the day, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. A 57-year-old named Vance Luther Boelter is suspected in the double murder, which, according to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is thought to be a politically targeted assassination. REUTERS/Tim Evans
The Minnesota State flag flies at half-staff, after a man killed senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband Marc, outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ellen Schmidt
Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
Gunman who shot two Minnesota lawmakers still at large as manhunt continues
MINNEAPOLIS - A massive manhunt entered a second day on Sunday in Minnesota for the gunman who killed a Democratic state lawmaker while posing as a police officer, a crime that Governor Tim Walz characterized as a "politically motivated assassination."
The suspect, whom police identified as Vance Luther Boelter, 57, fled on foot when officers confronted him at the Brooklyn Park home of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were both killed.
The gunman earlier had shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away, authorities said.
Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said on Sunday morning that authorities believe the suspect is still in the Midwest, adding that an alert had been put out in neighboring South Dakota.
"Clearly, this is politically motivated," she said, noting that the state's entire congressional delegation - Republicans and Democrats - issued a shared statement condemning the shootings.
The suspect left behind a vehicle outside Hortman's house in suburban Minneapolis that resembled a police SUV, including flashing lights, and contained a "manifesto" and a target list of other politicians and institutions, officials said.
Authorities had not publicly identified a specific motive as of Saturday evening.
Boelter has 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.
"There clearly was some through line 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," Klobuchar said.
Boelter had been appointed in 2016 by Walz' predecessor to a state advisory board, where he served alongside Hoffman, according to state records. Authorities said they were not certain yet whether the two had any meaningful interactions.
"There's certainly some overlap with some public meetings, I will say, with Senator Hoffman and the individual," Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans told reporters on Saturday. "But we don't know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other."
ABC News, citing law enforcement officials, reported the list of targets featured dozens of Minnesota Democrats, including Walz, who was also the Democratic vice presidential candidate last year.
The killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of political violence, including the attack on former Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during last year's presidential campaign and an arson attack at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's house in April.
Republican and Democratic politicians across the country reacted with shock and horror and issued calls to tone down increasingly heated political rhetoric.
Klobuchar said she had seen both Hortman and Hoffman at a political dinner on Friday, just hours before they were shot.
"We started out together in politics, moms with young kids, and somehow she was able to balance getting to know every door, knock on every house in her district, while raising two children - Girl Scout leader, she taught Sunday school," she said of Hortman, 55.
Klobuchar said both Hoffmans were "hanging in there" after undergoing surgery for multiple gunshot wounds.
GUNMAN POSED AS OFFICER
The attacks started around 2 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday, when authorities said the gunman shot the Hoffmans in their home in Champlin before driving several miles to Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park.
Police went to the Hortman house proactively at the request of a sergeant who responded to the Hoffman attack and was concerned other politicians might be at risk. The gunman immediately fired upon the two officers when they arrived, and when they returned fire, he ran.
The FBI released photos of the suspect wearing a rubber mask and a police-like uniform.
David Carlson, 59, told Reuters he has shared a house in Minneapolis with Boelter for more than a year and last saw him on Friday night. He said he received a disturbing text from Boelter at about 6 a.m. on Saturday.
"He said that he might be dead soon," said Carlson, who called police.
Police said they found flyers with "No Kings" printed on them in the gunman's car in reference to the thousands of nationwide "No Kings" protests on Saturday against the Trump administration, but that there were no known direct links between him and the movement.
"Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America," Trump said in a statement.
Trump has faced criticism from some opponents for using inflammatory rhetoric at times when talking about his political rivals.
In one of his first moves in office earlier this year, Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
20 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Washington Post investigating cyberattack on journalists, report says
The reporters whose emails were targeted included members of the national security and economic policy teams. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - A cyberattack on the Washington Post compromised the email accounts of several journalists and was most likely the work of a foreign government, the Wall Street Journal reported on June 15. Mr Matt Murray, the Washington Post's executive editor, said in an internal memo that the breach was discovered on June 12 and an investigation had been initiated, the WSJ reported. Staffers at the Washington Post were told the intrusions compromised journalists' Microsoft accounts and could have granted the intruder access to work emails, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The reporters whose emails were targeted included members of the national security and economic policy teams, including some who write about China, the report added. The Washington Post did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. In 2022, News Corp, which publishes the WSJ, was breached by digital intruders. The email accounts and data of an unspecified number of journalists were compromised in that incident. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Iran rejects ceasefire negotiations while under Israeli attack, official says
Closed shops in the Tehran Bazaar following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in the centre of Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY Iran rejects ceasefire negotiations while under Israeli attack, official says DUBAI - Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters on Sunday, as the two foes launched fresh attacks and raised fears of a wider conflict. "The Iranians informed Qatari and Omani mediators that they will only pursue serious negotiations once Iran has completed its response to the Israeli pre-emptive strikes," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conflict. Iran made "clear that it will not negotiate while under attack," the official said. Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation in what has emerged as the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies. The official told Reuters media reports that Iran appealed to Oman and Qatar to engage the U.S. to broker a ceasefire and renew nuclear talks were inaccurate. Iran's foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters request for comment, nor did Qatar's foreign ministry or Oman's ministry of information. Oman has in recent months mediated nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, though the most recent round was canceled a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran. Qatar has also played a role facilitating talks between the two foes in the past, most recently mediating a prisoner swap agreement in 2023. Oman and Qatar have good relations with both Iran and the U.S. and they also have communicated directly with Israel. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel-Iran clashes escalate, civilians urged to evacuate target areas
Rescue personel assist an injured woman at an impact site following a missile attack from Iran on Israel, at Haifa, on June 15. PHOTO: REUTERS BAT YAM, Israel/DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on June 15, killing and wounding civilians and raising concerns of a broader regional conflict, with both militaries urging civilians on the opposing side to take precautions against further strikes. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders convening in Canada on June 15 would reach an agreement to help resolve the conflict and keep it from escalating. The Israeli military, which launched the attacks on June 13 with the stated aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, warned Iranians living near weapons facilities to evacuate. 'Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments where six people were killed in Bat Yam, a town south of Tel Aviv. Iran's armed forces told residents of Israel to leave the vicinity of 'vital areas' for their safety. 'Do not stay or travel near these critical areas,' an Iranian armed forces spokesperson said in a video broadcast by state TV around the time that Iran sent a new barrage of missiles towards Israel. Death toll rises In Israel, rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13. Explosions rattled Tel Aviv in the afternoon as Iran launched its first daylight missile raid since Israel attacked on June 13. There were no immediate reports of direct hits in the initial barrage. Hours later, shortly after nightfall, Iran launched a second wave of missiles, which struck Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city in northern Israel. An Israeli military official said that an elderly care facility was hit. The national emergency service reported 9 people were injured in the strike, along with 2 others following a missile impact in southern Israel. In Bat Yam on the evening of June 15, shocked residents gathered to survey the damage, while many across Israel braced for another sleepless night, unsure of what may come next. 'It's very dreadful. It's not fun. People are losing their lives and their homes,' said Shem, 29, whose home was shaken overnight when a missile struck a nearby apartment tower. In Iran, images from the capital showed the night sky lit up by a huge blaze at a fuel depot after Israel began strikes against Iran's oil and gas sector - raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state. Iran has not given a full death toll but said 78 people were killed on June 13 and scores more have died since, including in a single attack that killed 60 on June 14, half of them children, in a 14-storey apartment block flattened in Tehran. Firefighters and rescue personel work at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, at Haifa, on June 15. PHOTO: REUTERS Trump vetoes plan to target Khamenei In Washington, two US officials told Reuters that US President Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we're not even talking about going after the political leadership,' said one of the sources, a senior US administration official. When asked about the Reuters report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on June 15: 'There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that.' 'We do what we need to do,' he told Fox's Special Report With Bret Baier. Regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel's military attacks, Mr Netanyahu said in the interview, adding that Israel would do what it takes to remove what he called the 'existential threat' posed by Tehran. Israel's military spokesperson has said the current goal of the campaign is not regime change, but the dismantling of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and removing its capabilities 'to annihilate us'. Israel launched a surprise attack on June 13 morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will escalate in coming days. The intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in Israeli attacks on Tehran on June 15, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said. An Israeli official said there was still a long list of targets in Iran and declined to say how long the offensive would continue. Israel also said it hit an aerial refuelling aircraft in eastern Iran in its longest-range attack of the conflict. Iran has vowed to 'open the gates of hell' in retaliation in what has emerged as the biggest-ever confrontation between old enemies. Trump warns Iran not to attack Israeli skies have been streaked with barrages of Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptor rockets. Some 22 of Iran's 270 ballistic missiles fired over the past two nights breached Israel's anti-missile shield, Israeli authorities say. Mr Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' he said in a message on Truth Social. 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.' Mr Trump had earlier said the US had no role in Israel's attack and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets. The US military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two US officials said on June 13. Mr Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb. The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due on June 15, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack. Oil price: Tense wait for markets to open Financial markets are holding their breath to see whether oil prices surge further when trading resumes on June 16 after the weekend, with potentially punishing consequences for the global economy, or settle down on hopes that Gulf exports will escape relatively unscathed. Oil prices already shot up by 9 per cent on June 13 before Israel had struck any Iranian oil and gas targets. On June 15, the opening day of the trading week in Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed up 0.4 per cent, recovering from earlier losses of nearly 2 per cent. Since June 14, Israel has hit the oil depot in Tehran and facilities at Iran's South Fars gas field, the world's largest, which produces gas for domestic consumption. Israel so far has spared targets associated with Iran's oil exports, while Tehran has yet to follow through on hinted threats to hinder shipping in the Gulf. With markets reopening within hours, traders say oil buyers have loaded up on long-term contracts for protection in case of supply disruption, but uncertainty could drive wild price swings. Iran said the situation at the burning Shahran oil depot in the capital was under control. It told citizens to seek shelter in mosques, schools and subways. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
