- Police say same gunman earlier shot at another lawmaker.
- Hoffman undergoing surgery after being hit with nine bullets.
- Target list “included abortion providers”, Minnesota Democrats.
MINNEAPOLIS: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said a 57-year-old suspect was arrested on Sunday in the killing of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband while posing as a police officer.
The arrest was the culmination of a huge manhunt after the shooting deaths of Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, the previous day, which Walz characterized as a “politically motivated assassination.”
Authorities said the arrested suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, also allegedly shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home a few miles away.
Walz said Hoffman, hit by nine bullets, was heading for recovery after emerging from his last surgery.
Boelter has links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to online postings and public records reviewed by Reuters.
Boelter was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, a Hennepin County criminal complaint showed.
Three of those charges are punishable with jail terms of up to 40 years, according to the complaint unsealed on Sunday.
When police searched Boelter’s SUV after the shootings they discovered three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9-mm handgun, and a list of other public officials including their addresses, the complaint showed.
The killing was the latest episode of high-profile US political violence.
Such incidents range from a 2022 attack on former Democratic US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at their home, to an assassination bid on Donald Trump last year, and an arson attack at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s house in April.
