Latest news with #hitlist
CNN
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘Truly chilling': Lawmaker on Minnesota shooting suspect's list speaks out
Officials say the suspect accused of shooting Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota left behind an apparent hit list with dozens of names in his car after exchanging fire with police outside the home of one victim and fleeing the scene. CNN's John Berman speaks with Rep. Hillary Scholten (D) who was on the list.
The Sun
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Minnesota ‘assassin' found with ‘hit-list' of 70 names & addresses including Squad member Ilhan Omar and Jeff Bezos' ex'
THE man accused of fatally shooting a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband allegedly had a hit list with 70 names after being caught by police. Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of shooting and killing Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home on Saturday, along with injuring Senator John Hoffman and his wife in another shooting. 9 9 9 9 9 During the search for the suspect, investigators found a fake police vehicle that Boelter allegedly used to pose as a police officer to carry out the shootings. Inside the car, police found a cache of weapons, including at least three AK-47 assault rifles and a manifesto with the names and addresses of other public officials. There were about 70 names in the manifesto, some of which were abortion rights advocates, said law enforcement officials. Boelter was arrested near his home in Green Isle on Sunday night after a brief manhunt. He has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to Hennepin County court records. LIST OF DEATH Named on the list were Senator Amy Klobuchar and "squad member" Rep. Ilhan Omar, reported The Minnesota Star Tribune. Others include Congresswoman Kelly Morrison, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and Jeff Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott. Some doctors who worked for Planned Parenthood were on the list, as well as several abortion clinics, including one that is scheduled to open in Omaha, Nebraska. Former congressman Dean Phillips claimed in an X post that he was on the list as well, writing, "I extend heartfelt gratitude to Minnesota's law enforcement professionals," after Boelter's arrest. "Now, we must take steps to prevent political violence before it's too late." Vance Boelter's car found as cops continue to hunt for 'fake cop' suspect who 'shot dead Melissa Hortman' in Minnesota The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirmed that investigators found the manifesto in a press briefing, saying the documents "gives some indications" on a possible motive. "This is not a document that would be like a traditional manifesto that's a treatise on all kinds of ideology and writings, Evans said. He called it a notebook "with a lot of lawmakers and others ... as opposed to a succinct document." "I don't want the public to have the impression that there's this long manifesto that's providing all of this information and details and then associated with names," he added. "It's much more about names." NIGHT OF TERROR Boelter was named as a suspect on June 14 after of Hortman and Hoffman. Hortman and her husband, Mark, were pronounced dead at their Brooklyn Park home. Timeline of Minnesota's shooting Vance Boelter has been arrested for the targeted shootings of Minnesota lawmakers Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman. Below is a timeline of events: Saturday, June 14 2 am - Cops receive a phone call about a shooting at Hoffman's house. Cops call nearby officers to proactively check Hortman's home because it's close by in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. 3:35 am - Police arrive at Hortman's home and find a car that looks like a cop car in her driveway. Officers see the suspect, dressed as a cop and wearing a latex mask, leaving the Hortman's house. Cops exchange gunfire with the suspect, who runs back into the home and leaves out the back door on foot. 7:11 am — A shelter-in-place warning is issued for three miles around Brooklyn Park. 7:35 am - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz posts on social media that he's been briefed on the shootings. 9:30 am - Walz and cops give the first news conference on the shootings and confirm the Hormans' deaths. Minnesotans are asked not to attend rallies taking place across the state. 3 pm - Law enforcement officers identify Boelter as the suspect and release multiple pictures of him wearing a mask and dressed like a cop. 3:20 pm - Police lift shelter-in-place in Brooklyn Park. 4:45 pm - The FBI offers a $50,000 reward for information leading to Boelter's arrest and conviction. Sunday, June 15 10:50 am - Boelter's car is found near Minnesota Highway 25 and 301st Avenue in Sibley County. Residents in the area are asked to lock their doors and stay in place. 9:30 pm - Boelter is arrested in the woods near his home in Green Isle, Sibley County. The couple's dog, Gilbert, was severely injured in the attack and had to be euthanized. "Her children had to put him down after learning their parents had been murdered," former Minnesota House member Erin Koegel said on X of Hortman's children. "Gilbert wasn't going to survive. Hoffman and his wife Yvette had surgery after suffering multiple gunshot wounds at their residence in Champlin, about nine miles away from the Hortmans. Officials said they are "cautiously optimistic" that the pair will survive what Governor Tim Walz called an "unspeakable tragedy" and a "politically motivated assassination." The Hoffmans' nephew revealed that the couple had been shot 11 times during the horror attack. He shared in a Facebook post how his aunt Yvette had thrown herself on top of her daughter to protect her. Boelter is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for the charges against him and a federal warrant for "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution." His other charges will soon be upgraded as the state "intends to pursue first-degree murder charges against Boelter," said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty at a news conference. The Department of Justice is also deciding to throw federal charges against Boelter, which, if convicted, could result in the death penalty. 9 9 9 9
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Terrifying new 'hit list' with a dozen more targets found at suspected Minnesota shooter's home
A second hit list written by alleged fugitive assassin Vance Boelter has been discovered at his home as the manhunt for the double homicide suspect continues. Boelter, 57, is wanted for allegedly shooting dead Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and wounding his Democratic State Senator John Hoffman on Saturday. He is facing both state and federal charges, with authorities announcing on Sunday that there is both a 'nationwide warrant' for Boelter's arrest for the murders and attempted murder at the state level as well as a federal warrant for 'unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.' Hortman and her husband Mark were killed at their home in Champlin, in northern Minneapolis, while Hoffman and his wife Yvette were wounded at their house in nearby Brooklyn Park. It is believed Boelter, a Trump supporter, was motivated to kill the two Democrats due to their support for abortion rights after police uncovered a hit list of about 70 people from his car Saturday morning. Most of the names on that list were Democrats or people with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, CNN reports. A second hit list with more than a dozen new names was also found during a search of one of Boelter's homes on Saturday as police continued their manhunt for the suspect. Authorities located Boelter's car, a Buick that appeared to be dumped in Faxon Township, on Sunday and found a cowboy hot lying on the ground that was identical to one Boelter was wearing in CCTV images released by the FBI. By around 4pm, a four-door dark blue Buick Regal sedan was seen being removed from the search area on a flatbed truck. Here's what you need to know about the political assassinations in Minnesota: Boelter is wanted for the killings of Democratic State Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in Champlin. The suspect also shot and wounded Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in nearby Brooklyn Park. Cops first responded to a call about the shooting at Hoffman's home about 2am on Saturday. They then went to check Hortman's home where they spotted the suspect. The suspect, dressed in police gear, exchanged gunfire with cops before retreating inside the house and then fleeing out the back on foot. Boelter's wife Jenny was pulled over by police with suspicious items in her car about 10am on Saturday, but was let go The FBI believes the attacks were politically motivated and is offering a $50,000 reward to find Boelter. Cops found several rifles in Boelter's vehicle and believe he may still be armed with a pistol. Inside the car they found handmade 'No Kings' flyers, an anti-Trump protests that took place across the US on Saturday that he may have planned to attack. Boelter was a Trump supporter and opposed abortion, according to his roommate. Inside his car cops found a hit list of prominent abortion rights campaigners, many of them Democratic lawmakers. Donald Trump called the shootings 'terrible' after being briefed on the matter. 'Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,' he said. The development came after state troopers equipped with rifles and full body armor went house to house searching yards, outbuildings and garages. The military-style convey traveled in armored vehicles with rooftop snipers, but as of 7pm, the fugitive was still at-large. Minnesota State Patrol, SWAT teams, and a US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrived in a dozen or more vehicles including heavily armored trucks about 11am on Sunday. The convoy included officers from the Bloomington Bomb Squad, one of four specialist units on call across the state to detect and defuse explosives. Hundreds more police set up a command post in Green Isle, near Boelter and his wife Jenny's home, to coordinate the manhunt. The search area includes around 120 acres of fields and woodland belonging to Brian Liebhard, 65. He said he was having trouble sleeping and was on his porch alone at 2.30am when he heard gunshots - about eight hours before the police arrived. His nephew later told him he'd found a dark Buick abandoned in a secluded side road along with a cowboy hat. 'I heard two shots. I have no idea if it's related to this,' he previously told Liebhard said he went to church on Sunday morning and came back and found access to his property blocked by a police cordon. He gave officers permission to begin an extensive search of his land, which includes several abandoned, crumbling homes and barns. The area is waterlogged and difficult to traverse without sinking deep into the mud, Liebhard added. 'My daughter brought up where this guy lived and said "Dad he's only four miles from us,"' he said. 'I've never seen him myself. As far as I know they are still searching for him there.' As the afternoon wore on, locals gathered at the cordon to exchange theories and gossip about the manhunt. 'So the hat is just sat there on the side of the road?' said one. 'It's too convenient. It's obviously a decoy. You fellas can't see the wood for the trees.' Authorities have also questioned Boelter's wife, Jenny, who was stopped at a convenience store while driving a car with three other relatives inside near Onamia about 10am on Saturday. She was found with a weapon, ammunition, cash, and passports about 75 miles from where the shootings took place in northern Minneapolis eight hours earlier. More than a dozen officers swarmed Jenny's car during the traffic stop and they were at the scene for two to three hours. Jenny was detained for questioning after officers found the items inside the vehicle, but no one was arrested as she was released. Authorities have since said she and other family members were cooperative with the investigation. But it remains unclear whether Boelter's vehicle was stopped randomly or being tracked by police, as the FBI offers a $50,000 reward for any information leading to his capture. Police said on Sunday they have already received more than 400 tips, and have recovered evidence from his vehicle. 'We continue to conduct interviews on the investigative piece, not only to learn his whereabouts, but also to follow up on the case and gather the information as part of the prosecution related to him,' Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at Minnesota's Department of Public Safety added. Police say Boelter the shot Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in Champlin at around 2am on Saturday, but they survived the attack with multiple wounds. Hortman and her husband Mark were then fatally shot at their home eight miles away in Brooklyn Park about 3am. Officers then encountered the gunman fleeing Hortman's home at 3.35am and exchanged gunfire with him, which is when they reportedly found the initial hit list. Chilling photos showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head. Yet officers somehow let the suspect slip through their fingers as he escaped the scene on foot. As authorities began their search for the suspect, Boelter's best friend and roommate David Carlson told local news outlet KARE11 he was an avid Trump supporter and voted for the Republican candidate. He also described the suspect as a Christian who opposed abortion. In fact, the suspect worked as a pastor and was seen in a newly unearthed video dancing in a church service in Africa. The clip, filmed in February 2023, showed him delivering a passionate testimony about how he met Jesus at the age of 17. 'I met the Lord when I was 17 years old and I gave my life to Jesus Christ,' he says in the clip. He went on to describe naming his five children - who he shares with Jenny - after Christian virtues, Grace, Faith, Hope, Joy, and David, in what he calls a testament to God's blessings on his life. The alleged assassin also has armed security experience in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and North America through the Praetorian Guard Security Services, his biography on the website detailed. 'He brings a great security aspect forged by both many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the US Military,' it read. 'Vance Boelter has focused all this experience to make sure Praetorian Guard Security Services covers the needs you have to keep your family and property safe.' Boelter had also lived a life of public service before Saturday's tragedies, and he even served on the Governor's Workforce Development Board, which works closely with Gov. Tim Walz to give advice on the state's workforce. He served on the board from June 2016 to June 2018 as a private sector representative and from December 2019 to January 2023 as a board member. He was appointed under Walz both times. Additionally, Boelter was the chief executive of Red Lion Group, which was based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Red Lion Group has since deleted its website and LinkedIn pages, but Boelter's LinkedIn said he started at the company in December 2021. He announced two years ago that he was in the country with his company, working on 'private business projects'. Boelter also worked for Metro First Call, a funeral company in Minneapolis, in August 2023 to February 2025, where he took bodies from nursing homes to the business to be prepared for burial. He said in a video posted online that he worked with police and death investigators at crime scenes. Boelter updated his LinkedIn a month ago to say he had returned to the US and was looking for work in the food industry on the corporate side. He had previously worked at 7-Eleven and Greencore as a general manager, a system manager at Del Monte Foods, and an operational leader at Johnsonville Sausage, according to his LinkedIn. The social media page also shows his deep connections to politics, as he asked his followers to vote ahead of the 2020 election. The night before the deadly shots were fired, Boelter texted his roommates that he was 'going to be gone for a while'. Carlson, who shared a North Minneapolis home with Boelter, tearfully read aloud text messages from the accused assassin. 'David and Ron, I love you guys,' the eerie note began. 'I made some choices, and you guys don't know anything about this, but I'm going to be gone for a while.' He also said he 'may be dead shortly' and did not wish to involve Carlson or his other roommate Ron Ramsey. 'I don't know why he did what he did,' Carlson, his roommate, told KARE 11. 'It's just... it's not Vance... He had lots of friends, trust me, and I wish I could have been there to stop him.'
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Yahoo
Retired FBI Agent Analyzes Manhunt of Minnesota Lawmaker Killer
Retired FBI agent Rob D'Amico joins Sunday TODAY to break down the search for the gunman in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their wives and explain what investigators will do to protect the people named in the 'hit list' found in the suspect's vehicle.
