Suspect in custody after shooting Minnesota lawmakers
Vance Luther Boelter allegedly shot dead a Democratic state lawmaker while posing as a police officer. (Ramsey County sheriff's office/AP pic)
MINNEAPOLIS : Police arrested a man today who allegedly shot dead a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband while posing as a police officer, according to ABC News, citing several sources.
ABC News said the man was arrested near his farm near Green Isle, Minnesota, but Minnesota department of public safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.
The sheriff's office in Minnesota's Ramsey County posted a photo on social media today which appears to show the suspected gunman, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, in custody.
A massive manhunt has been underway following the shooting deaths of Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota house, and her husband, Mark, which governor Tim Walz characterised as a 'politically motivated assassination'.
Authorities had said earlier that they had found a car, hat and other items belonging to Boelter in a rural area southwest of Minneapolis, but had not found him yet.
'We're certainly operating as though he's still alive, and believe he is at this time,' Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension, told a news briefing before the ABC news report.
Boelter fled on foot early yesterday when officers confronted him at Hortman's Brooklyn Park home.
Police say the same gunman that killed Hortman had earlier shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away, authorities said.
Hoffman was undergoing surgery after being hit with nine bullets and 'is closer every hour to being out of the woods', Yvette said in a text message posted to social media by US senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat.
'We are both incredibly lucky to be alive,' Yvette said in the message.
Authorities in Sibley County, about an hour by car from the scene of the crime, instructed residents to keep their doors locked after finding the suspect's car.
The location of the car in Faxon Township is about 6.4km east of Boelter's listed home address in Green Isle, which was searched by law enforcement officers yesterday.
The gunman had left behind a different vehicle outside Hortman's house in suburban Minneapolis that resembled a police SUV, including flashing lights, and contained a target list of other politicians and institutions, officials said.
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.
The Minnesota Star Tribune, citing law enforcement officials, reported the target list included abortion providers and several dozen Minnesota Democrats, including Walz, who was also the Democratic vice-presidential candidate last year, and Klobuchar, a 2020 presidential candidate.
'There clearly was some through line with abortion, because of the groups that were on the list. So that was one of his motivations,' Klobuchar said on NBC's 'Meet the Press'.
The killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of US political violence, including the attack on former Democratic US house speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their home 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.
Gunman posed as officer
Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman's killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of US political violence. (AP pic)
Damon Voight, who lives down the road from Boelter's house in a rural area of Green Isle, said his wife was afraid with the suspect on the loose.
'My wife is freaked out,' Voight said.
'She's like, 'We've got guns in the house, right?''
The city of Champlin, home to the Hoffmans, said it shut down its annual Father Hennepin festival for the weekend, which included live music and a carnival.
Outside the state capitol in St Paul, a small memorial had taken shape, with flowers, American flags and handwritten messages on yellow post-it notes.
'Justice for Melissa,' read one note, with a drawing of a heart on it.
Klobuchar said she had seen both Hortman and Hoffman at a political dinner on Saturday, just hours before they were shot.
'We started out together in politics, mums 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,' the US senator said of Hortman, 55.
The attacks started around 2am yesterday, when authorities said the gunman shot the Hoffmans in their home before driving several miles to Hortman's home in neighbouring Brooklyn Park.
The FBI released photos of the suspect wearing a rubber mask and a police-like uniform.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Malay Mail
US enforcers nab suspect two days after fatal shooting of Democratic politician and spouse
Suspect killer has been named as Vance Boelter, 57 He was arrested in Sibley County, a rural area about an hour southwest of the Minneapolis suburbs where the double murders happened Notebook with names of politicians found in suspect's car Trump condemned the attacks on his political rivals, says 'may call' them WASHINGTON, June 16 — US law enforcement officials in Minnesota caught the suspected killer of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband on Sunday, authorities said, ending a two-day manhunt. The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, allegedly disguised himself as a police officer, then shot and killed Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home early Saturday. Boelter was captured in Sibley County, a rural area about an hour southwest of the Minneapolis suburbs where the murders had occurred, police and state officials said. 'After (a) two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,' Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told a late-night news conference. Police described the search as the 'largest manhunt in (the state's) history', with 20 SWAT teams and several agencies working to find him. Jeremy Geiger, assistant chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, told reporters that Boelter had been 'taken into custody without the use of force.' Before the murders, Boelter also allegedly attacked two others nearby – state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who survived and were treated for serious injuries, authorities said. 'The latest news is Senator Hoffman came out of his final surgery and is moving toward recovery,' Walz told reporters. Hoffman was shot nine times and Yvette eight times, according to US Senator Amy Klobuchar. 'Politically motivated' A notebook containing the names of other lawmakers and potential targets was found inside a car left by Boelter at the Hortmans' home, which Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said earlier Sunday was not a 'traditional manifesto.' 'I am concerned about all our political leaders, political organizations,' Klobuchar said Sunday. '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, Hortman was committed to legislation that protected reproductive rights in the state, local media reported. A picture of murdered Democratic state assemblyman Melissa Hortman (right) and her husband Mark is placed in a memorial on June 15, 2025. — Reuters pic 'Cannot be the norm' The United States is bitterly divided politically as President Donald Trump embarks on his second term, implementing hardline policies and routinely insulting his opponents. Political violence has become more common. Trump himself survived an assassination attempt last year, with a second attempt foiled by law enforcement. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's home was set on fire this year. An assailant with a hammer attacked the husband of then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. '(This is) a moment in this country where we watch violence erupt,' Walz said after the arrest. 'This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences.' US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who was attacked by a neighbor in 2017, told NBC that 'nothing brings us together more than... mourning for somebody else who's in political life, Republican or Democrats.' The shootings came on the day a dramatic split screen showed a country divided: hundreds of thousands of protesters across the United States took to the streets to rally against Trump as the president presided over a military parade in Washington – a rare spectacle criticized as seeking to glorify him. Trump has condemned the attacks in Minnesota on the lawmakers and their spouses. The president was asked in a Sunday interview with ABC News if he planned to call Walz, who was Kamala Harris's running mate in the election Trump won last year. 'Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person,' Trump said. 'But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too.' — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Los Angeles curfew to continue for ‘couple more days'
Demonstrators began protesting on June 6 against raids on undocumented migrants. (San Francisco Chronicle/AP pic) LOS ANGELES : A nightly curfew in Los Angeles will continue for 'a couple more days', mayor Karen Bass said today, the ninth day of protests that have seen US President Donald Trump launch a military-backed crackdown. Demonstrators began protesting on June 6 against immigration raids launched by the Trump administration to round up undocumented migrants in the heavily Latino city in Democrat-led California. The rallies have been mostly peaceful and confined to a small area of Downtown Los Angeles, but marred by sporadic and eye-catching violence which Republican Trump has used as a pretext to send in 4,000 national guards and 700 marines. The extraordinary deployment came over the protests of local officials who have insisted that the situation was under control. Bass issued an overnight curfew on June 10 on the downtown area at the heart of the protests to stop incidents of vandalism and looting. Today she said she is hoping that the number of people behind the violent incidents 'will taper off'. 'So I know the curfew will be on for at least a couple more days,' she said in a televised interview with local news channel KTLA, adding that she cannot predict how many more days exactly. 'We don't know how many raids are going to happen, we don't know what the character of the raids will be, and every time that happens it really generates a lot of anger in the city,' she said. Trump, seemingly unfazed by the protests, today directed federal authorities to ramp up their deportation efforts, including in Los Angeles. Bass noted the anger and fear that the raids by the immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agency have generated in Los Angeles. 'People are afraid to leave their homes,' she said, adding that raids have at times felt 'indiscriminate'. 'This is the US. You are not supposed to have to show your papers if you go out in public,' she said. 'It's hard for me to believe it's targeted.' Trump said on social media that ICE agents had been subjected to 'violence, harassment and even threats' and ordered them to 'do all in their power' to effect mass deportations. Los Angeles was mostly calm today after a massive rally and march a day earlier – part of the 'No Kings' series of anti-Trump protests across the country – saw thousands of people turn out to condemn the raids and the military crackdown. A small group of demonstrators marched around city hall during the sunny afternoon under the watchful eye of law enforcement, including several woman clad in bikinis carrying signs with slogans including 'Hot Girl Summer Melt ICE'.
Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Suspect in custody after shooting Minnesota lawmakers
Vance Luther Boelter allegedly shot dead a Democratic state lawmaker while posing as a police officer. (Ramsey County sheriff's office/AP pic) MINNEAPOLIS : Police arrested a man today who allegedly shot dead a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband while posing as a police officer, according to ABC News, citing several sources. ABC News said the man was arrested near his farm near Green Isle, Minnesota, but Minnesota department of public safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest. The sheriff's office in Minnesota's Ramsey County posted a photo on social media today which appears to show the suspected gunman, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, in custody. A massive manhunt has been underway following the shooting deaths of Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota house, and her husband, Mark, which governor Tim Walz characterised as a 'politically motivated assassination'. Authorities had said earlier that they had found a car, hat and other items belonging to Boelter in a rural area southwest of Minneapolis, but had not found him yet. 'We're certainly operating as though he's still alive, and believe he is at this time,' Drew Evans, head of the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension, told a news briefing before the ABC news report. Boelter fled on foot early yesterday when officers confronted him at Hortman's Brooklyn Park home. Police say the same gunman that killed Hortman had earlier shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away, authorities said. Hoffman was undergoing surgery after being hit with nine bullets and 'is closer every hour to being out of the woods', Yvette said in a text message posted to social media by US senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat. 'We are both incredibly lucky to be alive,' Yvette said in the message. Authorities in Sibley County, about an hour by car from the scene of the crime, instructed residents to keep their doors locked after finding the suspect's car. The location of the car in Faxon Township is about 6.4km east of Boelter's listed home address in Green Isle, which was searched by law enforcement officers yesterday. The gunman had left behind a different vehicle outside Hortman's house in suburban Minneapolis that resembled a police SUV, including flashing lights, and contained a target list of other politicians and institutions, officials said. 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. The Minnesota Star Tribune, citing law enforcement officials, reported the target list included abortion providers and several dozen Minnesota Democrats, including Walz, who was also the Democratic vice-presidential candidate last year, and Klobuchar, a 2020 presidential candidate. 'There clearly was some through line with abortion, because of the groups that were on the list. So that was one of his motivations,' Klobuchar said on NBC's 'Meet the Press'. The killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of US political violence, including the attack on former Democratic US house speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their home 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. Gunman posed as officer Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman's killing was the latest in a series of high-profile episodes of US political violence. (AP pic) Damon Voight, who lives down the road from Boelter's house in a rural area of Green Isle, said his wife was afraid with the suspect on the loose. 'My wife is freaked out,' Voight said. 'She's like, 'We've got guns in the house, right?'' The city of Champlin, home to the Hoffmans, said it shut down its annual Father Hennepin festival for the weekend, which included live music and a carnival. Outside the state capitol in St Paul, a small memorial had taken shape, with flowers, American flags and handwritten messages on yellow post-it notes. 'Justice for Melissa,' read one note, with a drawing of a heart on it. Klobuchar said she had seen both Hortman and Hoffman at a political dinner on Saturday, just hours before they were shot. 'We started out together in politics, mums 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,' the US senator said of Hortman, 55. The attacks started around 2am yesterday, when authorities said the gunman shot the Hoffmans in their home before driving several miles to Hortman's home in neighbouring Brooklyn Park. The FBI released photos of the suspect wearing a rubber mask and a police-like uniform.
