Man Who Killed Minnesota Congresswoman Planned Killings of Several Politicians

Minnesota congresswoman suspect visited homes of other lawmakers he also planned to kill, reports The Guardian.

Photo: John Roman | Dreamstime.com

A man accused of disguising himself as a police officer and shooting at the homes of two Minnesota state lawmakers went to the precincts of two other lawmakers that same night with the intent to kill them, authorities said June 16.

Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was arrested on the evening of June 15 after a massive two-day manhunt. State prosecutors have charged him with the murders of Democratic Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their Brooklyn Park home early on June 14.

On the subject: Minnesota Congresswoman and Her Husband Killed: Attack Was Politically Motivated

He is also charged with the attempted murder of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin.

Boelter, speaking in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., on June 16, said he could not afford an attorney and was assigned a federal public defender. A hearing on his pretrial detention is tentatively scheduled for June 27.

Boelter's appearance in court came after authorities announced a separate 20-page federal indictment that carries the possibility of the death penalty for Hortman's murder.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson for the District of Minnesota told reporters that in addition to the attacks on the Hortman and Hoffman homes, Boelter was seen outside the homes of two other unnamed lawmakers, a state representative and a state senator. Thompson called it a "planned campaign of harassment and violence."

According to him, there was no one in one of the houses. In another house, Boelter encountered a police officer and fled the scene of the possible crime.

"Boelter stalked his victims like prey. He would go to their homes, pose as a police officer and shoot them in cold blood," Thompson said.

He called Hortman's murder "political": "This is a terrifying attack on our democracy, on our way of life. The trend of political violence has been growing in recent years, and I hope this will be a signal to everyone. People may not agree with you, but that doesn't make them evil, and it certainly doesn't give you a reason to kill them."

Thompson laid out a timeline of Boelter's alleged crime spree, which began with an attack on the Hoffmans' home. Arriving in a black SUV disguised as a police car and wearing a "hyper-realistic latex mask," Boelter knocked on their door and identified himself as a police officer. When the couple opened the door and realized it was an impostor, he shot them multiple times. The Hoffmans remain hospitalized in serious condition, but are expected to survive.

Then, according to Thompson, Boelter went to the Minnesota House member's home in Maple Grove, where a doorbell camera captured him at 2:24 a.m. The homeowner was on vacation, and he had to leave.

From there, he headed to the state senator's station, where he arrived at approximately 2:36 a.m. A New Hope police officer spotted his car parked nearby with its headlights on.

Thompson said the officer mistook him for a colleague responding to a shooting at the Hoffmans. But when she rolled down her window to talk to him, Boelter didn't respond and "just sat there staring straight ahead."
She returned to the senator's house to wait for reinforcements, but when they arrived, the attacker had already left.

Thompson said Boelter went to the Hortmans' Brooklyn Park home. Officers arrived around 3:30 a.m. and found him on the porch. When they got out of their cars, the gunman opened fire, forced his way into the house, shot Hortman and her husband, and then ran away.

"Boelter planned his attacks meticulously. He researched his victims and their families," Thompson said. "He used the Internet and other means to find their addresses, the names of family members. Boelter watched their homes and took notes."

Thompson declined to offer a motive, but said investigators found "dozens and dozens of names on hundreds of pages" in the car found outside Hortman's home. All of the people were Democratic Party officials.

The records are believed to include prominent state and federal legislators, public figures, abortion rights advocates, and medical facilities.

According to an FBI affidavit, after the shooting, Boelter bought a car from a stranger for cash and drove to Green Isle, about an hour west of Minneapolis, where he was spotted by a police officer as he began running into the woods.

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said about 20 tactical units were deployed to search for the suspect. He was found after a lengthy operation involving a helicopter.

When Boelter was discovered, he emerged from the forest on his own “after brief negotiations” and was detained in a field.

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According to investigators, a handwritten statement of self-incrimination was found in his car, and during a search of his wife's car, two pistols, passports and $10 in cash were found.

The case file says Boelter sent his wife a text message: "No words can explain how much I regret what happened. There will be armed and nervous men coming to the house and I don't want you there."

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation Chief Drew Evans said June 15 that investigators had interviewed Boelter's wife and other family members about the June 14 shooting. All were cooperating with the investigation and were not taken into custody.

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