The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found Sunday night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Vance Boelter’s capture at a news conference after saying Saturday that the suspect’s alleged crimes included a “politically motivated assassination.” Despite being armed, authorities said, Boelter was taken into custody without incident, and no injuries were reported.
Boelter is in custody and is now facing state and federal charges in connection with the Saturday slaying of Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, authorities said.
Evans added that his team was in contact with the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office, who he said were examining whether to bring their own additional charges.
Nearly 200 law enforcement officers — including members of 20 regional and local SWAT teams — descended on eastern Sibley County, about an hour outside Minneapolis, starting Sunday morning. However, the suspect may have taken advantage of rural terrain to remain hidden most of the day, authorities said.
Police Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park Police Department said it was without a doubt the biggest manhunt in the state’s history.
The governor expressed relief that the suspect had been apprehended after collaborations from federal, state and local law enforcement concluded when Minnesota State Patrol officers put their handcuffs on him.
Sleepless nights
“After a two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended” the alleged shooter, Walz said.
“This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences,” he added.
Authorities allege Boelter tried to kill state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, at their home in Champlin at roughly 2 a.m. Saturday before fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old Democrat, and her husband, Mark Hortman, in nearby Brooklyn Park.
In a statement released by the Hoffman family, Yvette Hoffman thanked law enforcement for capturing the suspect.
“John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive,” the statement read. “We continue our healing journey and are humbled by the outpouring of love and support our family has received from across the state and our nation.”
Authorities said Boelter left behind a notebook with a hit list of other politicians, as well as those who have been vocal in support of abortion rights. The names included those of Hoffman and Hortman near the top, said Democratic Party executive Ron Harris, a fellow Minnesotan.
Evans said the list also included politicians based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa.
Boelter emerged as the suspect as police covered locations familiar to him and spoke to people associated with the married 57-year-old.
The hunt was jolted into renewed action about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, when his car and cowboy hat were found not far from his residence in Green Isle in the eastern portion of Sibley County, authorities said.
A Buick Regal associated with the suspect, as well as his cowboy hat, found at the side of a road in a wooded area about 3 miles from the residence, drew a massive manhunt, authorities said.
Tense 10 hours
But the trail seemed to get cold through nightfall as there was no sign of the suspect for more than 10 hours despite evidence he had spoken to people while on the run, Evans, the criminal apprehension superintendent, said at a news conference earlier in the day.
Boelter remained somewhat of a mystery even as authorities spoke to his wife and relatives after a traffic stop Sunday, during which they cooperated fully with investigators, Evans said.
There was no evidence, he said, that the suspect had ever previously threatened the lawmakers he shot or anyone else on that list.
Warrants for his arrest included a state warrant alleging he committed second-degree murder and a federal warrant alleging he was on the run to avoid prosecution. It wasn’t clear if the suspect had a lawyer.
Boelter impersonated law enforcement to get close to the lawmakers at their suburban Twin Cities homes before opening fire, officials said.
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, police conducting a welfare check at the Hortmans’ residence encountered a man in front they believe was Boelter, dressed as a police officer, with a police-style SUV, emergency lights on, in the driveway, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said Saturday.
It was apparent the home had taken fire before the officers’ arrival, he said, and when the suspect realized police had arrived, he opened fire and exchanged rounds with them before fleeing through the home and escaping out back, he said.
No other injuries were reported, but inside that home was the slain couple, authorities said.
A statement of probable cause filed in support of charges reflected in the state warrant stated the suspect was seen on security video earlier at Hoffman’s home, shortly after 2 a.m., presenting himself at their door as a police officer, wearing a mask over his face, and using a Ford SUV that had the appearance of a marked patrol vehicle.
The couple’s daughter was not struck and called 911. Walz cited his daughter, Hope, as he spoke Sunday night, calling her actions “heroic.”
Authorities said they found three semiautomatic rifles and two 9 mm handguns in the abandoned SUV. Also inside, they said, was the notebook with the alleged hit list.
At the news conference, Evans said a local police officer reported seeing a man running into the woods, and authorities, including SWAT teams and a state public safety helicopter overhead, rushed the area. They called for the suspect to surrender and captured him as he crawled through a field, he said.
Detectives were interviewing the suspect overnight, Evans said.
In a video circulating online, the suspect describes himself as a married father of five from Green Isle who works for two funeral homes. He said he had previously worked for three decades in the food industry and once traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to partner with farmers and fishermen to help them stimulate their food supply system.
A ‘deep impact’ on Minnesota
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Yvette Hoffman was well enough to text updates, including that her husband has had to undergo multiple operations since the shooting. She said nine rounds struck him, and eight others hit her.
She said the state senator is “closer every hour to being out of the woods,” according to Klobuchar. Later, Walz said Hoffman emerged from the last of many immediate operations he needed and was recovering.
Walz said the shootings will have a deep impact on Minnesota politics, with the loss of Hortman presenting a double-edged sword of political violence and the loss of a leader who he described as ardently effective and compromising.
“Melissa Hortman was the core of who our values were,” the governor said. “It’s not about hatred. It’s not about mean tweets. It’s not about demeaning someone. It’s leading with grace and compassion and vision and compromise and decency. That was taken from us.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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