Suspect Detained In Shooting Of Minnesota Lawmakers
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
SAINT PAUL (Worthy News) – The governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota says the man who allegedly shot and killed Democratic state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark has been detained.
Governor Tim Walz thanked “multiple agencies” who he said had been involved in the search for suspect Vance Luther Boelter, 57. Boelter is also suspected of shooting state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home, seriously injuring them, officials said.
Walz spoke at a news conference late Sunday, after earlier Sunday, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told media a nationwide warrant had been issued for the suspect’s arrest.
The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held “deeply religious and politically conservative views,” telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” as most churches didn’t oppose abortion, according to investigators.
Governor Walz, a Democrat, described the shooting as “a politically motivated assassination.”
Authorities say Boelter impersonated a police officer and gunned down former House Speaker Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home outside Minneapolis. Senator Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier by the same gunman at their home nearby but survived.
INTENSE MANHUNT
“After a two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Governor Walz told reporters. “That is 48 hours that law enforcement were involved in a complex and dangerous manhunt. They spent Father’s Day away from their families to deliver justice to Malissa and Mark Hortman and their children, who spent this Father’s Day alone,” he noted.
Boelter has been charged with second-degree murder in the attacks, officials said. “One man’s unthinkable actions have altered the state of Minnesota,” Walz said at the news conference on Sunday night.
Investigators detained him on Sunday near Green Isle, a small town about an hour southwest of Minneapolis, where he had a home with his wife and children, Worthy News learned.
For much of Sunday, tactical teams had conducted searches in the area, where investigators found a vehicle and a hat they believed belonged to the suspect, officials said.
Officials said that the suspect was armed when he was arrested, but that no force was used in the arrest.
The gunman had impersonated a police officer during the attacks, wearing a rubber mask and a bogus badge, officials said.
NOTEBOOK FOUND
He had a notebook that mentioned the names of about 70 potential targets that included both of the lawmakers, according to investigators.
Officials said he fired at officers responding to one of the homes before escaping. There were no reports of injuries in that incident.
The sheriff of Ramsey County, Bob Fletcher, posted a photo on the social media platform Facebook of the suspect being taken into custody in a field. The image of a white, grey-haired male appeared altered, with the officers’ faces obscured.
Evans credited Brooklyn Park officers with “proactively” going to Representative Hortman’s home, where they found Boelter. “If that had not happened,” Evans said, “I have every confidence that this would have continued throughout the day.”
Evans said the authorities were confident that the suspect committed the violence alone. However, investigators would look into whether anyone helped him in other ways, though there was no indication of that yet, he added.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
COWBOY HAT
They circulated a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings.
On Sunday evening, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar shared a statement from Yvette Hoffman expressing appreciation for the outpouring of public support.
“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Yvette Hoffman said in a text that Klobuchar posted on social media. “He took nine bullet hits. I took eight, and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark.”
Yet for those involved in law enforcement, this arrest was personal, too. By carrying out the attacks disguised as a police officer, Boelter “exploited the trust our uniforms are meant to represent,” stressed Bob Jacobson, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Safety.
“That betrayal was deeply disturbing to those of us who wear the badge with honor and responsibility.”
U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who has been briefed about the situation, earlier expressed his sorrow over the “terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers.”
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota. It is a truly great place!” he stressed in a statement.
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