The Democratic leader of the state House of Representatives and her husband were shot dead, while a state senator and his wife were seriously wounded. The governor calls it a politically targeted act.
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A Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in their home early Saturday by someone posing as a police officer, and a second lawmaker and his wife were wounded in what Governor Tim Walz described as “targeted political violence.”
Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her spouse were killed in their Brooklyn Park home, while state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, although shot multiple times, were taken to the hospital and underwent surgery.
Authorities were actively searching for a suspect in the hours following the shootings.
“We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence," Walz said at a press conference Saturday.
Superintendent Drew Evans of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension stated that authorities were actively searching for the suspect.
AP's sources stated that the motive has not yet been determined and that the investigation is still in its early stages. However, two people familiar with the matter identified the suspect being sought as 57-year-old Vance Boelter.
Police caution to avoid 'No Kings' protest
Hours after the shootings, hundreds of police and sheriff deputies from departments in the region, some in tactical gear with assault style weapons, were scattered through the town. Occasional police roadblocks where cars are stopped and checked.
After the attack, police in Minnesota cautioned residents to avoid “No Kings” protests, which are against Trump's deportation policies.
Police have recovered writings that mention names of multiple lawmakers and other officials in the fake police car that they believe the suspect used in the shooting.
President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the FBI would join in the investigation.