One Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot and a second lawmaker and his spouse were injured in separate “politically motivated” shootings at their homes in eastern Minnesota, officials said Saturday.
The suspect, who authorities said had impersonated law enforcement and wore a badge to gain access to the legislators’ homes, remained on the run as a large-scale search was ongoing.
Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference that the early-morning attack “appears to be a politically motivated assassination.” He identified the slain lawmaker as state Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and her husband, Mark, while state Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin and his wife, Yvette, were severely injured.
The Hoffmans remained hospitalized and their conditions were not immediately available. Both lawmakers were members of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party and their respective homes are located about 8 miles apart, in the suburbs north of Minneapolis.
The Brooklyn Park Police Department issued a shelter-in-place alert for an area surrounding the Edinburgh Golf Course Saturday morning in its quest for a suspect, NBC affiliate KARE 11 reported.
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
Authorities said police responded to Hoffman’s home in Champlin at about 2 a.m. on a report of a shooting. Another call came in at 3:35 a.m. at Hortman’s home, where Brooklyn Park police officers encountered an individual who “immediately fired at them.” They exchanged gunfire before the suspect fled out of the back of the house, said Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The suspect may have been wearing a long-sleeve blue shirt similar to a police uniform with a best, a senior law enforcement official
Officials said they located the suspect’s vehicle, which had lights and sirens as if it were a police squad car, and found a “manifesto” inside with the names of other lawmakers and officials.
“We have people of interest that we are looking for,” authorities said.
President Donald Trump said Saturday morning that he was briefed on the shooting and that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.
“They will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law,” Trump said in a statement. “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America.”
In a social media post, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called the shootings “a stunning act of violence.”
“I’m thankful for all the law enforcement who are responding in real time,” she wrote on X. “My prayers are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service.”
Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, a shooting survivor who now advocates for gun safety, said she was “horrified and heartbroken” by the latest violence against lawmakers.
“An attack against lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself,” she said in a statement. “Leaders must speak out and condemn the fomenting violent extremism that threatens everything this country stands for.”
The shootings came on the same day as sweeping rallies planned nationwide, including in Minnesota, organized under the slogan “No kings.” A major parade is also being held in Washington, D.C., in honor of the Army’s 250th birthday, coinciding with Trump’s birthday.
The “no kings” event in northeast Minnesota was canceled, and Minnesota state police asked people to stay away from public demonstrations while a suspect is on the loose.
“Given the targeted shootings of state lawmakers overnight, we are asking the public to not attend today’s planned demonstrations across Minnesota out of an abundance of caution,” state police said.
