Minnesota, June 16 (IANS) A man believed to be the shooter who killed a Minnesota state lawmaker and wounded another has been arrested, the authorities have confirmed.
“We got him,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed in a post on X.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office released a photo Sunday night on Facebook that showed the 57-year-old suspect, identified as Vance Boelter, being taken into custody by police on Sunday (US time).
“The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody. Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together, along with support from the community, justice is one step closer,” the office noted.
Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband were fatally shot at their home in Brooklyn Park at 3:35 a.m. local time (local time) Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.
State Senator John Hoffman, 60, and his wife were critically wounded in a separate attack at their Champlin residence at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time Saturday, about 13 km away in the US midwestern state.
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said at a Saturday press conference, calling Hortman’s death “a politically motivated assassination.”
The massive manhunt for Boelter involving hundreds of officers from federal, state, and local agencies lasted over 24 hours. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation had offered a 50,000 US-dollar reward for information leading to his arrest.
US President Donald Trump had called the shootings “horrific violence” and said US Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI would prosecute “anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law,” said a White House statement.
Hortman served as Minnesota House Speaker from 2019 to 2025 and was the chamber’s top Democratic leader. The killing leaves the Minnesota House evenly split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans. Hoffman, first elected in 2012, chaired the State Senate Human Services Committee.
All Minnesota state lawmakers have been placed under protective custody while the investigation continues. The suspect remains armed with a pistol and should not be approached, authorities warned.
Officials urged people not to attend dozens of planned “No Kings” protests across the state out of an abundance of caution. But, thousands still reportedly took to the streets in St. Paul, the state capital of Minnesota, on Saturday.
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