Suspect in Minnesota politician shootings arrested after manhunt
A man suspected of shooting two politicians and their spouses in the US state of Minnesota has been arrested after an extensive two-day manhunt.
State representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in the attack at their home in the early hours of Saturday. State senator John Hoffman and his wife were seriously wounded at their own home in a nearby suburb.
All four victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds, though Hoffman and his wife are both expected to survive their injuries.
Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on Sunday night in an area of rural farmland southwest of the state’s largest city Minneapolis. He had exchanged gunfire with police when they arrived at Hortman’s home before fleeing the scene.
Hortman was a member of the state’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the legislature, for 20 years. It holds an equivalent role to the UK House of Commons.
She was the highest-ranking Democrat in the chamber as the leader of her party group and had served as the Speaker of the House from 2019 until this January.
Hoffman has been a member of the state’s Senate, the upper chamber of the legislature, since 2013. It is similar to the House of Lords, only that its members are elected and can table legislation in the same way as the House.
Also a Democrat, he currently chairs the Senate Human Services Committee.
It is suspected that Boelter impersonated a police officer as part of the shootings, including driving an imitation police vehicle, as well as using a Halloween mask to conceal his identity.
A list of around 70 targets was found in his car, including several prominent Democratic politicians from across the state and abortion rights activists.
It is also thought that he planned to target a ‘No Kings’ protest planned for the same day. The demonstrations against the second Trump administration coincided with a military parade being held in Washington.
Boelter has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The attack comes amidst a spike of political violence around the globe. Earlier this month, Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt.
Last July, Donald Trump was shot and wounded in the ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania for the 2024 presidential election.