'Stuff of nightmares': How investigators say attacks on Minn. lawmakers unfolded

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Federal court documents released Monday shed light on how investigators say a 57-year-old man carried out what officials are calling a "political assassination" that left a Minnesota lawmaker dead and another wounded.
Vance Boelter was arrested late Sunday following the largest manhunt in Minnesota state history, authorities said. Federal prosecutors charged him with several counts of murder and stalking in the killings of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Boelter also faces charges in the shooting of State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were seriously injured but are expected to recover.
Investigators say Boelter "extensively researched" and planned the June 14 attack. He compiled a list of mostly Democratic state lawmakers and their addresses; fitted his SUV with lights and a fake license plate to resemble a police squad car; and he purchased a silicone mask and a cache of weapons, according to a 20-page affidavit filed in federal court.
Boelter 'embarked on a planned campaign of stalking and violence, designed to inflict fear, injure and kill members of the Minnesota state legislature and their families," the affidavit said.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares," said Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, at a news conference.
Here's a timeline of the shootings and the search to find Boelter, according to the federal affidavit.
Around 2 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, June 14, Boelter drove to the house of Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman in Champlin, about 20 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Video footage from the home shows Hoffman at the front door wearing a black tactical vest and a flesh-colored mask. He repeatedly knocked on the door and shouted "This is the police. Open the door," court records say.
Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both came to the door and Boelter told them he was there in response to a shooting. After a short exchange, the Hoffmans got a better look at Boelter and realized he was wearing a mask. One or both of them said he wasn't a real police officer. Boelter in response said "This is a robbery," according to the FBI.
John Hoffman tried to push Boelter back through the front door, but Boelter shot him repeatedly before turning his gun on Yvette Hoffman, court documents say. At approximately 2:06 a.m., the Hoffman's adult daughter called 911 and reported that her parents had been shot by a masked gunman.
At approximately 2:24 a.m., Boelter – still wearing the tactical gear and the mask – arrived at the front door of a state legislator in Maple Grove, about 10 miles from Champlin.
He rang the door bell multiple times and said "This is the police. Open the door. This is the police. We have a warrant," court documents say.
The legislator, who has not been named in court records, was not home. Boelter left.
Law enforcement in New Hope, Minnesota, learned of the shooting at the Hoffman home and dispatched an officer to the home of an unnamed elected official who lived in the area, the affidavit says.
At approximately 2:36 a.m., the officer encountered a man now believed to be Boelter in his SUV parked down the street from the state official's home. Believing the SUV belonged to a law enforcement officer with its lights and fake license plate, the officer pulled up beside the vehicle and tried to speak with the man.
The man "continued staring down and did not respond," the affidavit says.
The officer drove to the lawmaker's home, saw there were "no signs of distress" and waited for other law enforcement to arrive, according to the affidavit. By the time they did, Boelter was gone.
Around 3:30 a.m., law enforcement in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, went to the home of Rep. Melissa Hortman to conduct a safety check. Outside the home, officers saw the black SUV with its lights flashing. Then they saw the suspect – wearing the mask and tactical gear – facing the front door.
Moments later, the suspect fired several gunshots and moved into the house, where a second round of gunshots could be heard, records say. Inside, officers discovered the Hortmans with gunshot wounds and their dog gravely injured. Melissa and Mark Hortman were later pronounced dead.
Boelter fled the home and escaped into a wooded area. Investigators found a 9mm handgun and the mask outside the home. In the SUV, investigators recovered five firearms and several notebooks filled with handwritten notes. The writings included the names of more than 45 Minnesota state and federal public officials, including Hortman.
In a federal complaint, the FBI says Boelter sent multiple texts to his wife and his family a few hours after the shootings.
In a group chat that included his wife and children, he sent the following message at 6:18 a.m.: 'Dad went to war last night … I dont wanna say more because I dont wanna implicate anybody.'
Around the same time, his wife received a separate message from Boelter. 'Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around.'
At 7 a.m., a man said he met Boelter for the first time at a bus stop in northern Minneapolis. Boelter, carrying two duffel bags, asked whether he could purchase an e-bike from the man. The man agreed and the pair boarded a bus heading for the man's home, court documents say.
Boelter was next seen at a bank in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, where he withdrew $2,200, emptying his account. Cameras at the bank captured him wearing a cowboy hat. He bought an e-bike and a Buick vehicle from the man he met earlier at the bus stop.
On Sunday, June 15, police received a tip that a man was riding an e-bike in the area of Boelter's family home in Green Isle, Minnesota. Soon police located the Buick Boelter had purchased near the reported e-bike sighting. Inside the car, police found the cowboy hat and a letter addressed to the FBI, which said the writer, "Dr. Vance Luther Boelter," had carried out the shootings the day before.
At 9:10 p.m., Boelter crawled out of a wooded area and surrendered to law enforcement. He was taken into custody about a mile from his family's home.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How the deadly attack on Minnesota lawmakers unfolded