A Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were gunned down in what officials are calling a targeted political assassination. Another politician and his wife were seriously injured. The brutal murders took place at the lawmakers’ home near Minneapolis early Saturday.
Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home shortly after 2 a.m. They were murdered after the gunman targeted Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their Champlin home about five miles away. The Hoffmans are expected to survive and are out of surgery.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) called the shootings “an unspeakable tragedy,” and said the incident “appears to be a politically motivated assassination.”
The suspect is still at large despite making contact with police in the aftermath of the shooting, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley. Officers dispatched to Hortman’s home as other units investigated the Hoffman shooting discovered a car outfitted with flashing lights to look like an SUV squad car. According to reports, the suspect was dressed as a police officer to manipulate his way into the lawmakers’ home.
“When they arrived at Melissa’s house, they noticed that there was a police vehicle in the driveway with the emergency lights on and what appeared to be a police officer at the door coming out of the house,” Bruley said. “When our officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home.”
Bruley said the suspect was wearing a vest, a badge, and other equipment, such as a Taser, “very similar to mine.”
Officers are still on the hunt for the suspect, who is “armed and dangerous.” They said he is a “white male, brown hair, wearing black body armor over blue shirt and blue pants, and may misrepresent himself as law enforcement.”
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President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation, calling it "terrible" and promising that such "horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States."
"I have been briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers. Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!" Trump said in a statement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement that echoed Trump's statement, saying that such violence would not be tolerated under the Trump Administration.
"I am closely monitoring developments in Minnesota after what appears to be a targeted attack against state lawmakers. The FBI is on the ground investigating this case alongside state and local partners. This horrific violence will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Bondi wrote on X.
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