‘Stuff Of Nightmares’: Acting US Attorney Shares Chilling Details Surrounding Assassination In Minnesota

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson on Monday detailed the “chilling” background surrounding the fatal shootings of Democrat Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

Vance Luther Boelter, the suspect in the shootings, is facing six charges in relation to the murders of the Hortmans and the attempted murders of Democrat Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette in the early hours of Saturday morning. The suspect stalked his victims “like prey,” disguised himself as a police officer and opened fire on the two couples as part of a carefully planned attack, Thompson said.

“The details of Boelter’s crime are even worse. They are truly chilling. It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson said. “Boelter stalked his victims like prey, he went to their homes, held himself out as a police officer and shot them in cold blood.”

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Boelter first traveled to Hoffman’s residence in a black SUV with emergency lights turned on and with a license plate that read, “Police,” Thompson said. Security camera footage from Hoffman’s home showed Boelter wearing a “hyper-realistic” silicone mask, a black tactical vest and body armor as he approached the front door of Hoffman’s home.

The suspect shined the flashlights in the Hoffmans’ faces and claimed there had been a shooting reported in the house, though the couple realized he was not an officer once he put his flashlight down and shouted out, ‘You’re not a cop,’ Thompson said. As Hoffman attempted to prevent Boelter from forcing his way into the home, the suspect shot the state senator and then his wife “repeatedly.”

Thompson said that Boelter traveled to the homes of two other state elected officials, though one was fortunately on vacation at the time of his arrival.

The suspect arrived at the home of a state senator who lived in New Hope, Minnesota, though he fled the scene after a female police officer attempted to speak with him and waited for other law enforcement to arrive, Thompson said. The officer was dispatched to the state senator’s home to conduct a wellness check following the shooting of Hoffman.