Vance Boelter went to other lawmakers’ homes the night he killed Rep. Hortman, wounded Sen. Hoffman, FBI says

Vance Boelter has been charged in the shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses, and the FBI says that he visited the homes of multiple other elected officials the night he killed Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounded Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife separately.

Boelter, 57, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to the criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County Court on Saturday. 

Boelter is also facing six charges in federal court, including stalking and murder. The FBI held a conference Monday morning to share further details from their investigation, and he appeared in federal court in St. Paul Monday afternoon, wearing an orange jumpsuit and escorted by police.

Boelter was taken into custody on Sunday night near his Sibley County home following a manhunt that lasted over 36 hours.

Suspect went to other lawmakers’ homes, FBI says

The FBI revealed during a separate conference Monday morning that Boelter had gone to the homes of two other Minnesota lawmakers the night he killed Hortman and her husband and injured the Hoffmans. 

After the shooting at the Hoffmans’ home, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson says Boelter went to a state representative’s home in Maple Grove. However, that lawmaker had been on vacation and was not home at the time. 

Boelter then allegedly moved on to the home of a state senator in New Hope. After learning about the shooting of the Hoffmans in Champlin, a New Hope police officer went to the senator’s home to do a wellness check. The officer arrived to find what appeared to be another officer’s squad car, later identified as Boelter’s vehicle, parked outside the home. The officer tried to engage in conversation with Boelter, but he did not respond. By the time more officers arrived, Boelter was gone.

The FBI did not identify either of the two other lawmakers whose homes Boelter allegedly targeted, though state Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, said in a statement on Monday that she’s been “made aware” that Boelter’s SUV was parked near her home Saturday morning.

“I am so grateful for the heroic work of the New Hope Police Department and its officers,” Rest said. “Their quick action saved my life.”

After that, Thompson said Boelter then went to the Hortmans’ home in Brooklyn Park. Upon arrival, police officers saw Boelter several feet from the door. He drew his weapon and gunfire erupted before he rushed inside the house, firing at the front door. He then shot and killed the Hortmans. 

Federal investigators allege Boelter stalked his targets and planned his attacks carefully, researching the victims and their families as well as conducting surveillance on them “for an extensive period of time.” 

“This was a political assassination,” Thompson said Monday. 

At his hearing Monday afternoon, Boelter said could not afford an attorney, adding he had about $20,000 to $30,000 in savings, though he also said he owned his home and had seven cars to his name. The judge said, for now, Boelter would be appointed a federal defender. 

The next hearing was set for 11 a.m. June 27. 

Hennepin County attorney: “We will seek justice and accountability”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a separate press conference Monday morning that her office intends to pursue first-degree murder charges against Boelter. The sentence, if he is convicted, is life without parole.

The second-degree murder charges — the highest level that can be filed via complaint — were brought forward late Saturday in order to obtain a nationwide arrest warrant, Moriarty said.

“I want to assure our community and all those who are grieving that we will seek justice and accountability for the victims of these heinous crimes,” Moriarty said.

She added that the most senior prosecutors in her office would handle the case, which is still in its early stages. 

“It is a frightening time we are living in. Political violence is prevalent. And the way we talk to and about each other has raised the temperature to unfathomable levels. We cannot continue on this way. In times of tragedy and also every day, as we navigate our daily lives, we need to find ways to support one another,” Moriarty said.

Superintendent Drew Evans with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension added that if officials learn that anyone else participated in the crimes or worked to aid Boelter in any way, prosecutors would look to bring charges against those individuals as well.

Criminal complaint details

Police officers responded to a shooting at a home in Champlin, Minnesota, around 2:05 a.m. on Saturday, according to charges. The 911 caller reported a masked person, later identified by officials as Boelter, had come to their door and then shot their parents. 

Responding officers found that state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had been shot. Yvette Hoffman says her husband was shot nine times and she was shot eight times.

Surveillance video outside the Hoffmans’ home showed a Ford SUV with “police-style lights” parked in the driveway. Charges say Boelter, wearing a mask, blue shirt and police-style tactical vest with a badge and yellow-gripped gun, knocked on their door and announced himself as a police officer before entering the home. 

Yvette Hoffman, at a certain point, noticed that the man was wearing a mask, and one or both of them confronted him, saying they knew he was not a real officer. He assailant then told them he was robbing them. John Hoffman then pushed the assailant backward through the door, and that’s when he shot John and Yvette Hoffman, the complaint says. 

Charges say the Brooklyn Park Police Department learned of the Champlin shooting and proactively sent patrol officers to the home of another state legislator, later identified as Melissa Hortman. 

Officers arrived at the house around 3:35 a.m. and saw Boelter shoot a man, later identified as Melissa Hortman’s husband, Mark Hortman, through a doorway, the complaint said. Police exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who went inside the house and then escaped the area. 

Police found Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman dead inside their home. 

Texted family after shootings: “Dad went to war last night”

The FBI investigation reveals that Boelter allegedly sent a text to his family at around 6:20 a.m. Saturday, saying “Dad went to war last night … I don’t want to say more because I don’t want to implicate anybody.” He also allegedly sent a separate text to his wife: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around.”

The FBI says that they found about $10,000 in cash and passports for Boelter’s wife and children in his wife’s vehicle.

Charges say officers searched the SUV and found at least three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9mm handgun and a list of names and addresses of other public officials. 

While searching the area, police found a ballistic vest, a disassembled 9mm handgun, a mask and a gold police-style badge. He also had several sleeping masks, authorities said. The criminal complaint says Boelter is the listed purchaser for at least four of the guns taken by police. 

A person familiar with Boelter identified him to police as the man in the surveillance video.

A witness told the FBI that they spotted Boelter at a bus stop in north Minneapolis, carrying two duffel bags. He told investigators that Boelter bought an e-bike and Buick sedan off the witness for $900 cash, from the $2,200 he had just withdrawn from an ATM.

Boelter, the FBI says, left a handwritten letter to the FBI and admitted to being the shooter. He was apprehended later Sunday evening, in a field in Green Isle about one mile from his home. 

“The horrific, targeted murders of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, as well as the shooting of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman, have shocked the nation and united us in grief. These horrific acts of violence will not go unanswered: the Department of Justice will prosecute this suspect to the fullest extent of the law and if convicted deliver severe consequences for his alleged crimes,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said

This is a developing story. We will provide updates as they are available.

Jacob Rosen and

Eric Henderson

contributed to this report.