A 57-year-old man accused of carrying out a politically motivated shooting that killed one Minnesota lawmaker and injured another has been captured after a two-day manhunt, authorities confirmed Sunday.
Vance Boelter was taken into custody without incident following a multi-agency search that began early Saturday. He is accused of fatally shooting State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injuring State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in an attack officials say was driven by political motives.
Boelter, who describes himself as a security professional, previously served on a workforce development board alongside Hoffman.
According to court documents unsealed Sunday, he now faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
“The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,” the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office stated in a social media post, sharing an image of Boelter’s arrest.
Authorities praised the cooperation between law enforcement and the public in securing the suspect’s capture.
At a press conference, Governor Tim Walz commended officers for their bravery and paid tribute to Hortman, describing her as “the core of who our values were.” He added that the Hoffman family’s “heroic actions” during the incident likely prevented further loss of life.
Walz also issued a broader warning against the normalisation of political violence in the United States, referencing past high-profile incidents, including the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and attacks on other elected officials.
“This cannot be the norm,” Walz said. “It cannot be the way we deal with our political differences.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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