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.
When he arrived at the Hortmans’ home at approximately 3:30 a.m., he encountered two police officers who were conducting a wellness check on the Hortman’s after the shooting of Hoffman and his wife, leading him to shoot at the officers, Thompson said.
Thompson said that Boelter forcibly rushed into the Hortman’s homes and fatally killed the couple while police officers shot at him. While the suspect escaped the scene by foot, police recovered his 9 mm beretta pistol, the body armor and the mask in the back of the property.
In Boelter’s car, officers found five more firearms, a large quantity of ammunition and notebooks containing the names of over 45 state and federal elected officials, including Hortman, the attorney said.
“Now, Boelter planned his attack carefully. He researched his victims and their families, he used the internet and other tools to find their addresses and their names, he conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes about the location of their homes,” Thompson said. “He also prepared in other ways. He concealed himself as a police officer, outfitting his black SUV with police lights and a police license plate, wearing a black tactical vest and body armor and carrying a police flashlight and a handgun. And of course he wore that hyper-realistic silicone mask as seen on the surveillance videos.”
“The video of his arrival and shooting of Senator Hoffman is truly chilling. Again, it’s no exaggeration to say this is the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson continued.
Authorities stated that they also found a pile of “No Kings” fliers, a wide-scale protest opposing President Donald Trump, in Boelter’s vehicle, prompting them to recommend that people not attend the protests to ensure their own safety.
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