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In a weekend already overflowing with major breaking news, Americans awoke Saturday morning to a horrifying development in Minnesota.
Authorities there say a suspect impersonating a law enforcement officer shot and killed a top Minnesota elected official and her husband – and shot and severely wounded another state leader and his wife.
Minnesota House speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were gunned down in their suburban Minneapolis home shortly after 3:00 a.m. CDT. Both succumbed to their wounds, with Melissa Hortman being pronounced dead at the scene and her husband being pronounced dead shortly thereafter at a nearby hospital. Shot in their residence in nearby Champlin, Minnesota moments earlier were state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Both Hoffmans were seriously injured but are reportedly in stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Police are looking for a man identified as Vance Luther Boelter, 57, in connection with the shootings. Boelter, of Green Isle, Minnesota, is a former political appointee of governor Tim Walz. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to Boelter’s arrest.
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The FBI offers a reward of up to $50,000 for info leading to the arrest and conviction of Vance L. Boelter, suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses at their residences on June 14, 2025: https://t.co/XjawGOt5lq pic.twitter.com/tZ9RE97OHk
— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) June 14, 2025
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“This was a deliberate and violent attack on public servants and their families,” FBI special agent in charge for Minneapolis Alvin M. Winston Sr. said. “We are working with our law enforcement partners and using every available resource to locate and apprehend Vance Boelter. We urge anyone with information to come forward – no detail is too small.”
Boelter is armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him is urged not to engage but instead to immediately call 911.
“This is a dark day for Minnesota and our democracy,” governor Walz said in a statement.
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— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) June 14, 2025
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After the second shooting, a shelter-in-place warning was issued for a three-mile radius around Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The suspected shooter fled on foot after exchanging gunfire with police. At approximately 6:17 a.m. CDT, Boelter sent a text message to two of his childhood friends.
“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.
Authorities seized a car at the scene – a vehicle which closely resembled a police SUV – containing what they believe was a manifesto as well as a “hit list” including the names of Hortman, Hoffman and other politicians.
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The White House said U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi and the FBI were assisting local and state authorities in their investigation into the shootings – as well as the search for the suspect.
“The FBI is fully engaged on the ground in Minnesota and is working in collaboration with our local and state partners,” the agency’s deputy director Dan Bongino noted.
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” U.S. president Donald Trump said in a statement.
Trump was nearly assassinated last summer in Butler, Pennsylvania when a bullet aimed at his head grazed his ear after he turned his head at the last moment. A second assassination attempt was foiled two months later.
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As the manhunt for Boelter intensifies, law enforcement agencies at every level are working to determine the full scope of the suspect’s plans — as well as his motive for carrying out the shootings.
Meanwhile, Minnesota and the nation are reeling from what appears to be one of the most brazen politically motivated attacks in recent memory — an assault not only on individuals, but on the very institutions they served.
“This is not just an attack on our leaders,” Governor Walz said. “It’s an attack on democracy itself.”
FITSNews will continue to follow this developing story…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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