Man suspected of killing US state lawmaker caught
The primary suspect in the murder of senior Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband has been arrested after a two-day manhunt, according to local law enforcement.
Vance Luther Boelter, who allegedly posed as a police officer to carry out the attack, also shot and wounded a state senator, John Hoffman, and his wife in a separate incident. Police found the 57-year-old near his home in Sibley County, Minnesota.
Authorities say Boelter impersonated a police officer in order to gain access to his victims' homes. He first attacked Senator Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin, Minnesota, early Saturday morning. Both were shot multiple times but survived. Then Boelter allegedly went to Representative Hortman's home in nearby Brooklyn Park, where he fatally shot her and her husband, Mark.
'When we did a search of the vehicle, there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials,' Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley told reporters at a press conference on Saturday. 'We immediately made alerts to the state, who took action.'
Officers added that the vehicle 'looked exactly like an SUV squad car' and had emergency lights that made it appear 'exactly like a police vehicle.'
The list of about 70 names reportedly included prominent legislators and community leaders, as well as information about healthcare facilities. A Minnesota official told AP that the list included lawmakers who had publicly supported abortion rights.
Governor Tim Walz described the shootings as 'targeted political violence.' Boelter had previously served as a political appointee on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, though it remains unclear whether they knew each other. He was known to hold conservative views and had expressed anti-abortion sentiments.
Before the attacks, Boelter reportedly sent text messages to friends apologizing for his actions, though he did not specify 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 seen by AP.
Boelter faces multiple charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
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