The suspect in the shooting deaths of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, stopped at “no less than four” homes of Minnesota state legislators very early Saturday before ultimately fleeing under police gunfire.
All of the targets were Democrats.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson outlined 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter’s alleged movements in a press conference Monday announcing federal homicide charges against him that carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The six charges included shooting Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, murdering the Hortmans, and stalking both couples.
Thompson declined to name the two other homes where Boelter did not fire any rounds, but one lawmaker — Minnesota state Sen. Ann Rest — identified herself as a possible target.
“This is the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson told reporters, adding that Boelter stalked his targets “like prey.”
The deadly rampage, carried out by a suspect dressed convincingly like a police officer, began at the Hoffmans’ home around 2 a.m., and concluded at the Hortmans’ after 3:30 a.m.
Prosecutors say that Boelter wore a black tactical vest, body armor, a “hyperrealistic silicone mask” and held a flashlight and 9mm Beretta handgun, with more weapons including assault-style rifles in his SUV, which was decked out to look like a real police vehicle.
A security camera at the Hoffmans’ residence captured the suspect’s approach.
The couple opened up when Boelter allegedly shouted, “This is the police! Open the door!”
He initially shined the flashlight into the couple’s faces, Thompson said. When the flashlight was lowered, the Hoffmans realized he was not a police officer and began telling him to leave.
Boelter then allegedly told them he was there to rob them. He tried to push into the house, shooting the couple, and fled while the Hoffmans’ daughter called 911.
Thompson said Boelter subsequently went to two other houses before ending up at the Hortmans’.
At one home, in Maple Grove, Minnesota, the residents were away on vacation.
At another, in New Hope, Minnesota — the home of Rest — a real law enforcement officer on the scene appeared to act as a deterrent.
Thompson said that word of the shooting at the Hoffmans’ Champlin, Minnesota, home had put law enforcement on alert. A New Hope Police officer attempted to speak with the suspect in his SUV while waiting for backup at a home identified as Rest’s, but received no response; he departed before the backup arrived.
Rest said in a statement that she “has been made aware” the suspect was parked in front of her home early Saturday and thanked law enforcement for their actions.
“While I am thankful the suspect has been apprehended, I grieve for the loss of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and I am praying for the recovery of John and Yvette Hoffman,” Rest said.
Officers had also set out to check on the Hortmans in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, arriving around the same time as the suspect.
A chaotic scene then played out, with Boelter allegedly rushing into the home — in sight of police officers — to shoot the couple along with the family dog before fleeing out the back under gunfire. The couple’s daughter called 911.
The Hortmans were rushed to a hospital, but both died of their injuries.
Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP
Law enforcement found the suspect’s tactical gear, weapon and mask discarded along his flight path.
The violence sparked the largest manhunt in Minnesota state history, which culminated Sunday when officers arrested Boelter on Sunday in a wooded area in Minnesota after he was spotted on a trail camera by a local resident. He was initially charged with state-level murder counts, which are expected to proceed alongside the federal case.
Boelter was expected to appear in federal court at 1:30 p.m. local time.
An FBI affidavit illuminated Boelter’s alleged movements in the hours after the shootings. He allegedly sent a group text to his family members at 6:18 a.m. Saturday that read, “Dad went to war last night.” Another text found on Boelter’s wife’s phone warned that “trigger-happy” law enforcement officers would probably be coming to look for them; Boelter’s wife and children were found in a car with $10,000 cash, their passports and two handguns.
Boelter himself had allegedly fled on foot to a bus stop where he offered to purchase an e-bike and a Buick sedan from an unnamed witness, having abandoned his SUV at the Hortmans’. He stopped by a bank to take out cash, and was seen on one of the security cameras.
Other evidence linking Boelter to the shootings was apparently found at a home he shares at least part-time with a roommate.
Prosecutors have so far declined to speculate on a motive in the shootings, although they confirmed that hundreds of pages of maps, notebooks and the names of other potential targets had been discovered in the back of the suspect’s SUV.
“Let me say this: There’s been a lot of press coverage and speculation and discussion about a manifesto. I’ve seen nothing like a Unabomber-style manifesto in his writings,” Thompson said.
“He had many, many notebooks full of plans, lists of names, surveillance,” he went on. “But I have not seen anything involving sort of a political screed or manifesto that would clearly identify what motivated him.”
CORRECTION: The name of one location the shooter visited has been corrected.
