Minnesota ‘gunman' Vance Boelter arrested after largest manhunt in state history following horror shooting rampage
VANCE Boetler, the suspected of shooter of Minnesota Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband, has been arrested after the state's largest-ever manhunt.
After two days of intense searching where the net slowly closed in on Boetler, he was eventually found hiding in the woods and taken into custody on Sunday evening.
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The public had been warned not to approach the 57-year-old, and he was armed when they arrested him in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
A massive manhunt was launched on Saturday after Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot dead at their home in what officials called a "politically-motivated assassination".
Cops said the same gunman had earlier shot and wounded Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away earlier on Saturday morning.
The gunman reportedly disguised himself as a police office to trick his victims.
Police quickly located a vehicle of interest and the cowboy hat they believe Boelter was wearing when he was last seen in the Twin Cities area.
Fliers for No Kings - a group against President Trump's perceived overreach of power - were found in suspect's car.
The bits of evidence were found on Highway 25 in Sibley County roughly halfway between Green Isle, where Boelter has a property, and Belle Plaine.
Boetler faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
Hoffman and his wife were severely after being shot multiple times and had to undergo emergency surgery.
After they got out of the operation room, governor Tim Walz said he was "cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt".
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Suspect in shooting of Minnesota lawmakers to appear in court on murder charges
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, June 16 (Reuters) - A man accused of killing a Democratic state lawmaker while posing as a police officer is expected to appear in a Minnesota court on Monday afternoon on state murder charges. Vance Boelter, 57, is being held in Hennepin County after he was arrested on Sunday following a massive manhunt over the weekend. Boelter is accused of shooting dead Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, in their home on Saturday. Authorities said Boelter was also suspected of shooting and wounding another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette at their home a few miles away. Governor Tim Walz has characterized the crimes as a "politically motivated assassination". "A moment in this country where we watch violence erupt, this cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences," Walz said. Boelter was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, a criminal complaint showed. He is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. local time, jail records showed. Three of those charges are punishable with jail terms of up to 40 years, according to a Hennepin County criminal complaint unsealed on Sunday. Boelter had been impersonating a police officer while carrying out the shootings, wearing an officer's uniform and driving a Ford SUV with police-style lights, the complaint said. Boelter fled on foot early on Saturday when officers confronted him at Hortman's Brooklyn Park home, said authorities who had warned residents to stay indoors for their own safety and unleashed the state's biggest manhunt. When police searched Boelter's SUV after the shootings, they discovered three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9-mm handgun, and a list of other public officials including their addresses, the criminal complaint showed. Working on a tip that Boelter was near his home in the city of Green Isle, more than 20 SWAT teams combed the area, aided by surveillance aircraft, officials said. Boelter was armed but surrendered with no shots fired. The operation to capture Boelter, drawing on the work of hundreds of detectives and a wide range of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, was the largest manhunt in state history, Brooklyn Park police Chief Mark Bruley said during a news conference on Sunday. The killing was the latest episode of high-profile U.S. political violence. Such incidents range from a 2022 attack on former Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband at their home, to an assassination bid on Donald Trump last year, and an arson attack at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's house in April.
The Independent
2 hours ago
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Man suspected of shooting 2 Minnesota lawmakers is in custody after surrendering to police
The man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another crawled to officers in surrender Sunday after they located him in the woods near his home, bringing an end to a massive, nearly two-day search that put the entire state on edge. Vance Boelter was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Jail records show Boelter was scheduled to appear in court Monday afternoon. He is accused of posing as a police officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Authorities say he also shot Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette. They were injured at their residence about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away. 'One man's unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,' Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference after Boelter's arrest. The search for Boelter was the 'largest manhunt in the state's history,' Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said. It began when Brooklyn Park officers went to check on Hortman's home and saw her husband gunned down before the shooter fled. Authorities on Sunday located a vehicle Boelter was using abandoned in rural Sibley County, where he lived, and a police officer reported that he believed he saw Boelter running into the woods, Bruley said. Police set up a large perimeter and called in 20 different tactical teams, divvying up the area and searching for him. During the search, police said they received information confirming someone was in the woods and searched for hours, using a helicopter and officers on foot, until they found Boelter. He surrendered to police, crawling out to officers in the woods before he was handcuffed and taken into custody in a field, authorities said. Jail records show Boelter was booked into the Hennepin County Jail at 1:02 a.m. Central Time Monday and include two mug shots, one from the front and one from the side, of Boelter wearing an orange prison shirt. A targeted attack Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said the violence likely would've continued had Brooklyn Park offices not checked on Hortman's home, causing Boelter to flee. The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champin early Saturday. A criminal complaint unsealed after Boelter's arrest indicated their adult daughter called 911 just after 2 a.m. to say a masked person had come to the door and shot her parents. After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned that a lawmaker had been shot, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans' home. Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, the complaint says. It says they exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping the scene. Melissa Hortman was found dead inside, the complaint said. Authorities said Boelter posed as a police officer, even allegedly altering a vehicle to make it look like a police car. No details on motive Authorities did not give a motive as they announced Boelter's arrest. A list of about 70 names was found in writings recovered from the fake police vehicle that was left at the crime scene, said two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation. The writings and list of names included prominent state and federal lawmakers and community leaders, along with abortion rights advocates and information about health care facilities, according to the officials. A Minnesota official told AP lawmakers who had been outspoken in favor of abortion rights were on the list. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other. Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Boelter texted friends to apologize for his actions, though he didn't say what he had done. 'I'm going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way," he wrote in messages viewed by AP. An escalation in political violence The shootings come as political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions. Lawmakers said they were disturbed by the attacks as Twin Cities residents mourned. 'This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences,' Walz said Sunday. On Sunday evening, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support. 'John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,' Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. 'He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark.' Brightly colored flowers and small American flags were placed Sunday on the gray marbled stone of the Minnesota State Capitol along with a photo of the Hortmans. People scrawled messages on small notes including, 'You were our leader through the hardest of times. Rest in Power.' Pam Stein came with flowers and knelt by the memorial. An emotional Stein called Hortman an 'absolute powerhouse' and 'the real unsung hero of Minnesota government.' ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, and Balsamo and Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago and Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Bali police hunt for two Australians after Melbourne man shot dead
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