A federal prosecutor revealed on Monday that the suspected assassin, who shot Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and state Rep. Melissa Hortman along with their spouses early Saturday morning, also visited the residences of two other state lawmakers between the attacks.
Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old man accused of murdering Hortman and her husband and attempting to kill Hoffman and his wife, stopped by the homes of two other politicians while impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, USA Today reported. Thompson didn’t name the other two lawmakers, but said one was a state representative and the other was a state senator.
After shooting and wounding Sen. Hoffman and his wife, Boelter traveled to the home of a state representative in Maple Grove, Minnesota. After arriving at the home, Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2:24 a.m., Thompson said during a press conference on Monday.
“Again, he was dressed as a law enforcement officer, wearing a tactical vest and body armor, carrying a handgun and a flashlight, and wearing that same hyper-realistic silicon mask,” the prosecutor added.
“Fortunately, the state representative was not home. She and her family were gone on vacation,” Thompson said. “So Boelter left.”
The suspected assassin then traveled to another state senator’s home in New Hope, Minnesota. Outside of the home, Boelter parked his black SUV, which had a police license plate, in the street. As Boelter was parked outside, a New Hope police officer arrived on the scene to do a wellness check on the lawmaker after learning that Hoffman and his wife had been shot. The New Hope police officer believed Boelter was another officer who had been dispatched to do a wellness check and rolled down the window of her patrol car to speak with him.
“Boelter did not respond. According to the officer, he just sat there and stared straight ahead,” Thompson said. “So the New Hope police officer who had been dispatched to the scene proceeded to the state senator’s home, and she waited for other law enforcement to arrive. When they did, by the time they did, Boelter had left the scene.”
The suspected assassin’s next target was state Rep. Hortman in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he shot and killed her and her husband, Mark, in their home. Boelter allegedly had a “hit list,” containing the names of numerous Democratic lawmakers and abortion clinics in his vehicle, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Among those named on the “hit list” were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
Boelter, who was appointed to Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s Workforce Development Council in 2019, was “very conservative,” his roommate told CBS News. The roommate added that Boelter “would be offended if people thought he was a Democrat,” referring to rumors spreading on social media that Boelter was a leftist.
The suspected assassin was arrested by authorities in a wooded area near his home on Sunday. He is charged with six counts, including stalking, murder, and multiple firearms-related offenses, according to USA Today.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson said. “Boelter stalked his victims like prey.”
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[[{“value”:”
A federal prosecutor revealed on Monday that the suspected assassin, who shot Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and state Rep. Melissa Hortman along with their spouses early Saturday morning, also visited the residences of two other state lawmakers between the attacks.
Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old man accused of murdering Hortman and her husband and attempting to kill Hoffman and his wife, stopped by the homes of two other politicians while impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, USA Today reported. Thompson didn’t name the other two lawmakers, but said one was a state representative and the other was a state senator.
After shooting and wounding Sen. Hoffman and his wife, Boelter traveled to the home of a state representative in Maple Grove, Minnesota. After arriving at the home, Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2:24 a.m., Thompson said during a press conference on Monday.
“Again, he was dressed as a law enforcement officer, wearing a tactical vest and body armor, carrying a handgun and a flashlight, and wearing that same hyper-realistic silicon mask,” the prosecutor added.
“Fortunately, the state representative was not home. She and her family were gone on vacation,” Thompson said. “So Boelter left.”
The suspected assassin then traveled to another state senator’s home in New Hope, Minnesota. Outside of the home, Boelter parked his black SUV, which had a police license plate, in the street. As Boelter was parked outside, a New Hope police officer arrived on the scene to do a wellness check on the lawmaker after learning that Hoffman and his wife had been shot. The New Hope police officer believed Boelter was another officer who had been dispatched to do a wellness check and rolled down the window of her patrol car to speak with him.
“Boelter did not respond. According to the officer, he just sat there and stared straight ahead,” Thompson said. “So the New Hope police officer who had been dispatched to the scene proceeded to the state senator’s home, and she waited for other law enforcement to arrive. When they did, by the time they did, Boelter had left the scene.”
The suspected assassin’s next target was state Rep. Hortman in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he shot and killed her and her husband, Mark, in their home. Boelter allegedly had a “hit list,” containing the names of numerous Democratic lawmakers and abortion clinics in his vehicle, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Among those named on the “hit list” were Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
Boelter, who was appointed to Minnesota Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s Workforce Development Council in 2019, was “very conservative,” his roommate told CBS News. The roommate added that Boelter “would be offended if people thought he was a Democrat,” referring to rumors spreading on social media that Boelter was a leftist.
The suspected assassin was arrested by authorities in a wooded area near his home on Sunday. He is charged with six counts, including stalking, murder, and multiple firearms-related offenses, according to USA Today.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson said. “Boelter stalked his victims like prey.”
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