Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described the attacks as ‘targeted political violence’
A gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic state politician and her husband on Saturday in the US state of Minnesota, in what has been described as a “politically motivated assassination.”
The state’s governor, Tim Walz, says a second lawmaker and his spouse, have been seriously injured.
The FBI has joined a major search underway for the suspect, who fled on foot after firing at police and abandoning a vehicle in which officers found a “manifesto” and a list of other legislators and officials.
He has been identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans told a news briefing.
The dead couple are Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota state house speaker, and her husband Mark.
Evans said Boelter should be considered “armed and dangerous” and he is believed to still be in the local area, but that it was too soon to determine a motive.
The suspect had links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to his online postings and public records reviewed by the Reuters news agencies.
The list found in the abandoned vehicle that looked similar to a police car contained about 70 names, including abortion providers, and politicians, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources.
America’s ABC News, also citing law enforcement officials, said the list included dozens of Minnesota Democrats including Walz, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Senator Tina Smith and state Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Minnesota State Patrol chief Col. Christina Bogojevic said that police found flyers in the suspect’s vehicle with “No Kings” printed on them, but he had no direct links to the thousands of nationwide protests of the same name against President Donald Trump’s policies taking place on Saturday.
The protests were timed to counter Trump’s military parade in Washington. The No Kings organisers cancelled all protests in Minnesota after the shooting.
Police said the suspect had been seen earlier on Saturday wearing a light colored cowboy hat and a dark coloured long sleeved collared shirt or coat with a dark bag.
David Carlson, 59, told Reuters that he has been sharing a house in Minneapolis with Boelter for just over a year and last saw him on Friday night. Then he said he received a text message from Boelter early on Saturday morning.
“He said that he might be dead soon,” said Carlson, who called police.
Carlson, who has known Boelter since fourth grade, said Boelter worked for an eye donation centre. Carlson said he feels betrayed by Boelter and heartbroken for the victims, adding: “His family has got to suffer through this.”
Public records show Boelter was appointed in 2016 to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, created to advise the state government on workplace issues.
Asked if Boelter knew the lawmakers, Evans said: “We are still exploring that.”
“There’s certainly some overlap with some public meetings, I will say, with Senator Hoffman and the individual. But we don’t know the nature of the relationship or if they actually knew each other,” he told reporters.
Carlson said Boelter voted for Trump, was a Christian and did not like abortion.
Boelter said he was the chief executive of an organisation called the Red Lion Group, based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He and his wife, Jennifer, also ran a security service called Praetorian Guard Security Services. Minnesota corporate records list her as a manager.
The company website says it offers only armed guard security services. The claims could not be independently verified.
Nonprofit tax filings show that Boelter and his wife ran a Christian ministry organisation called Revoformation. The most recent filing, in 2010, lists Boelter as president.
Trump said he was briefed on 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, a truly great place!” Trump said in a statement.
Hortman and her husband were shot dead in their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, Walz said.
Walz said that the gunman went to the Hortmans’ residence after shooting Senator John Hoffman and his wife multiple times in their home in the nearby town of Champlin.
They underwent surgery, Walz said, adding that he was “cautiously optimistic” that they would survive “this assassination attempt.”
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” he said. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
The FBI called the shooting a “deliberate and violent attack on public servants and their families.” It offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
Meanwhile, officials in Texas say they have arrested a person in connection with a threat against state lawmakers who had planned to attend a protest at the state capitol in Austin, which it evacuated. There was no indication of a direct link to the Minnesota killings.
With Reuters
