UPDATE: Authorities say the suspect sought in connection with the shootings of state lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, sources confirmed to the Associated Press.
Speaker Hortman was someone who served the state of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service,” Walz said.
A manhunt is underway in Brooklyn Park for the person responsible, and thousands of people in the surrounding area remain under a shelter-in-place order.
Hortman was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2004, and she served as House speaker from 2019 to 2025.
GOP Rep. Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring succeeded her as House speaker during the 2025 legislative session under a power-sharing agreement in a tied chamber.
UPDATE: According to sources told the Associated Press, authorities are looking for Vance Boelter, 57, in connection with the shooting deaths of state lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman.
Boelter, who currently resides in Green Isle, Minnesota, was twice appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016 under former Governor, according to documents obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. Mark Dayton, and once more under Governor in 2019. Walz Tim. He was out of office since January 2023.
On Saturday morning, Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their Brooklyn Park residence in what Gov. Tim Walz referred to it as a “politically motivated assassination.”. “”.
The governor further stated at a press conference on Saturday morning that DFL State Sen. At their Champlin home, John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot several times. The couple’s nephew claimed on social media that they were each shot five or six times.
After the two had surgery at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Walz expressed his “cautiously optimistic” outlook regarding their survival.
“I lost my closest friend, and our state lost a great leader. Walz stated, “Speaker Hortman was a person who served the state of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor, and a sense of service.”. She was a giant in Minnesota and a stalwart public servant. Every day she awoke with the intention of improving this state. Many people will miss her because she is irreplaceable. “.”.
Officials say a shooter posing as a police officer shot both lawmakers and their spouses. There is still a shelter-in-place order in effect for thousands of people in the Brooklyn Park area, and a manhunt is in progress to find the culprit.
Police initially arrived at the Hoffman residence in Champlin at around two in the morning, according to Superintendent Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. A. 3:35 a.m. m. reported a similar attack at Hortman’s Brooklyn Park residence.
Because of Hortman’s close relationship with Hoffman, Brooklyn Park police were “proactively checking” on her residence. When those officers came across the suspect, Evans claimed, he opened fire on them. Police fired back, but the shooter managed to escape.
Hortman held the position of Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025 after being elected to the position for the first time in 2004. Her spouse and two children survive her.
Republican Rep. In 2025, she was succeeded as speaker of the House by Lisa Demuth of Cold Spring, who shared power in a tie chamber. She denounced the assault on her colleague in a written statement.
“The evil attack that occurred overnight horrifies me, and I am heartbroken beyond words by the loss of Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark,” Demuth stated. “I just ask that all Minnesotans pray for the victims of this terrible attack and the law enforcement officers who are still trying to catch the perpetrator, as the law enforcement response is still ongoing and details are still coming to light. “”.
All other Minnesota state lawmakers are being held under protective custody in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, according to sources who spoke to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed their involvement in the investigation on Saturday.
