Officials are looking for a suspected shooting who dressed officers and escaped on foot, officials said.
Authorities say Minnesota lawmakers and her husband were killed, while another lawmaker and his wife were injured in their homes by someone impersonating law enforcement for what Gov. Tim Waltz called a “political-motivated assassination.”
Authorities are dressing officers, exchanging gunfires with officers and continuing to search for shooters who fled on foot, officials said at a press conference on Saturday morning.
Waltz said state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed, while Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and injured in “target shooting” in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, two adjacent suburban cities 10-20 miles of Minneapolis.
What is the Democrat’s Farmera Ball Party? Things you need to know about DFL
The Democrats Party (DFL) is a political party exclusively for Minnesota, formed in 1944 when the Minnesota Democrats and Minnesota farm workers merged.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Broley said several people were taken into custody for questions, but as of Saturday morning no one was in custody. When asked if investigators knew the suspect’s name, he said there were “the people we are looking for.”
Bruly said the shooter impersonated a police officer with the same SUV as the actual police vehicle, vest, costume and equipment. The shooter knocks on the victim’s door and uses a trick to “manipulate his own path to the house,” Bruly said.
In the vehicle, officers found a list of names of lawmakers, including the names that were targeted in the attack on Saturday morning, Bree said. Named people have been notified, and authorities are working to provide them with an increase in security, he said.
President Donald Trump said he was described as “a horrifying shooting that took place in Minnesota, which looked like a target attack on state lawmakers.”
“This kind of horrifying violence is not tolerated in the United States. God blesses the great people of Minnesota. It’s a truly wonderful place!” he said in a statement.
The shooting comes as nearly 2,000 “King’s Day” demonstrations across the country are planned to protest the Trump administration. Authorities found a paper written in the back seat of the suspect’s vehicle, the “king” was written in the back seat of the suspect’s vehicle, said Colonel Christina Bogojevich of the Ministry of Public Safety.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety asked Minnesotans to stay home from all the demonstrations planned on Saturday, Waltz said.
“From the abundant attention, my Public Safety Bureau recommends that people do not attend today’s political gathering in Minnesota until the suspect is arrested,” he said.
There was no evidence of a specific threat to the “No Kings” rally, but Drew Evans of the Criminal Arrest Bureau said the public remains informed as authorities share information about the papers they found.
Authorities said thousands of people are still evacuated in the area as a massive manhunt for the suspect. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said residents should not answer the door to anyone claiming to be a police officer without first calling 911. He said that officers are instructed to approach people only in pairs, so one police officer knocking on someone’s door would be a red flag.
Waltz said he was briefed on Saturday morning about the “targeted shooting” and revitalized the state emergency business centre accordingly.
The Brooklyn Park Police Station has issued an early morning shelter alert for a 3-mile radius around Edinburgh Golf Course.
Law enforcement agencies, including the SWAT team, are conducting a regional grid search for suspects on Saturday.
“We want to reassure the public that security is on the rise for elected officials and others at risk,” Jacobson said.
Hoffman and Hortman are both members of the Minnesota Democratic Farmera Ball Party. According to his MP’s profile, Hoffman, 60, and his wife Yvette, have one child and live in Champlin. He was first elected in 2012. Hortman and her husband Mark have two children and, according to her profile, live in Brooklyn Park. She was elected in 2004.
Hortman served Minnesotans with compassion and grace, Waltz said.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost a friend’s loved one, Waltz said.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat who represents Minnesota, said she was “grief” with Holtiman’s death.
“Melissa was a good friend, we started politics at the same time and were always there for each other. She was a true civil servant at the heart and dedicated her life to serving Minnesotan with integrity and compassion,” Klobuchar said in a post to X.
“This is a dark day for Minnesota and democracy, but we don’t allow fear and violence to define who we are or how we move forward.
“I can’t stress enough that this isn’t okay. No type of type against elected officials is okay. No type of violence against others is okay.”
Officials say the shooting unfolded early Saturday morning. At about 2am, authorities were called to respond to reports of a shampoo shoot at Hoffman’s home, Drew Evans, the Bureau of Criminal Arresting, said at a press conference. Hoffman was shot dead and injured and taken to hospital where he was operated on.
“Hoffman has undergone surgery and care at this point, and we are cautiously optimistic that we will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said.
Police in nearby Brooklyn Park, who helped with the scene while law enforcement responded at Hoffman’s home, decided to actively check Hortman, Bruly said. When they arrived at Hortman’s house, they saw what looked like a police car with the lights on and met a man who dressed the officers coming out of the house.
The suspect shot the officer dead, but after he returned the fire, it is believed that the suspect returned home and stepped through the back door, Bruly said.
Bruly said the suspect was impersonating a police officer and had the same SUV as the actual police vehicle, vest, outfit and equipment. The suspect knocks on the victim’s door and uses a trick to “manipulate his own path home,” Bruly said.
“It wasn’t a real police officer,” he said. “There’s no doubt they were in this room or not, you’ll assume they’re police officers.”
Both Hortman and her husband were shot and killed, officials said.
Contribution: Reuters