What we know about the attacks on two Minnesota lawmakers

Two state legislators from Minnesota were attacked at their home Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz called a “political-motivated assassination.” The attack killed one politician and another seriously injured.

Police are looking for suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is still the whole.

The attacks have caused condemnation throughout the political field. “This terrible violence will not be tolerated,” President Donald Trump said in a statement.

Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat representing Minnesota, called it “an attack on everything we represent as a democracy.”

State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot dead in their home, the governor said.

She served in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 20 years and has been speaking at the Chamber since 2019-25.

State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot and injured several times but survived. They had surgery.

Both members of the lawmakers are Democrats.

So far, local law enforcement has confirmed the attack occurred in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota in the early hours of Saturday.

Minnesota Criminal Arrests Director Drew Evans said police received a call at 02:00 local time involving an incident at the Hoffman home.

When the police were checking Hotman’s home, another phone call to the police was 03:35.

Police exchanged gunshots at the suspect at the Hotman’s house in nearby Champlin, but he escaped. A hunt is underway.

Officials said the attacker was impersonating a policeman, driving a vehicle similar to a police car and using badges and uniforms.

Police said they were looking for a 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter. They provided no details about possible motivations.

Boelter is a former political appointment and was once a member of the same state as Hoffmann’s Workforce Development Commission.

“We don’t know the nature of the relationship, or whether they really know each other,” Mr. Evans said.

Mark Bruley, chief of the Brooklyn Park Police Department, said authorities found a manifesto and a list of targets in the suspect’s vehicles.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota is a Democrat and a spokesperson for her office has confirmed to the BBC.

According to the online resume, Boelter is a security contractor who has worked in Africa and the Middle East. He also held management roles for companies in Minnesota.

He texted friends at a Minneapolis residence, where he rented a room and stayed one or two nights a week, Minnesota Star Tribune Report.

“I’m going to go for a while. Maybe I’ll die soon, so I just want you to know that I love you all, and I hope it doesn’t.”

Out of caution, the governor blocked Minnesotans from participating in the Trump administration’s policies that took place Saturday in the state and around the United States.

These attacks also brought back the spotlight on the issue of political violence in the United States.

President Trump survived two attempts to assassinate in 2024.

In April this year, Democrat Josh Shapiro, the president of Pennsylvania, was the target of the arson attack.