Police have swarmed an isolated farming community after finding Minnesota assassin Vance Boelter’s abandoned car.
Heavily armed SWAT officers shut down a section of Highway 25 in Faxon Township in Sibley County, 47 miles southwest of Minneapolis, late on Sunday morning.
The area is about eight miles from the home in Green Isle that Boelter shares with his wife Jenny, who was pulled over by cops and suspicious items found in the car.
Boelter, 57, is wanted for allegedly shooting dead Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and wounding his colleague John Hoffman on Saturday.
Hortman and her husband Mark were killed at their home in Champlin, in northern Minneapolis, while Hoffman and his wife Yvette were wounded at their house in nearby Brooklyn Park.
Former state House of Representatives speaker Hortman had dinner with federal senator Amy Klobuchar hours before she was assassinated.
Police said they located Boelter’s car that appeared to be dumped in the township, but it wasn’t clear if he was believed to still be in the area.
A cowboy hat was also found lying on the ground that was identical to one Boelter was wearing in CCTV images released by the FBI.
Jenny Boelter, the wife of Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter (pictured together), was pulled over around 10am on Saturday with a weapon, ammunition, cash and passports inside the vehicle
A cowboy hat was also found lying on the ground
Boelter wearing an identical cowboy hat in CCTV image released by the FBI
Here’s what you need to know about the political assassinations in Minnesota:
- Boelter is wanted for the killings of Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in Champlin. The suspect also shot and wounded Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in nearby Brooklyn Park.
- Cops first responded to a call about the shooting at Hoffman’s home at around 2am on Saturday. They then went to check Hortman’s home where they spotted the suspect.
- The suspect, dressed in police gear, engaged officers in a gun battle before retreating inside the house and then fleeing out the back on foot.
- Boelter’s wife Jenny was pulled over by police with suspicious items in her car about 10am on Saturday, but was let go
- The FBI believes the attacks were politically motivated and is offering a $50,000 reward for Boelter.
- Cops found several rifles in Boelter’s vehicle and believe he may still be armed with a pistol.
- Inside the car they found handmade ‘No Kings’ flyers. It comes as anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests were taking place across the US.
- Boelter was a Trump supporter and opposed abortion, according to his roommate.
- Inside his car cops found a hit list of prominent abortion rights campaigners, many of them Democratic lawmakers.
- Donald Trump called the shootings ‘terrible’ after being briefed on the matter. ‘Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,’ the president said.
Police roadblocks and armored SWAT trucks near the crossroad of Highway 25 and 301 Avenue
Residents received an emergency alert telling them to stay indoors and remain vigilant while police searched the area
Farmers in the area where police converged said one of their neighbors claimed he heard gunshots late at night hours before cops arrived.
They received an emergency alert telling them to stay indoors and remain vigilant while police searched the area.
TV news footage showed police roadblocks and armored SWAT trucks near the crossroad of Highway 25 and 301 Avenue.
Minnesota State Patrol and the US Marshals Service vehicles were seen participating in the operation.
Police showed up after stopping Boelter’s wife at a convenience store while driving a car with three other relatives inside near Onamia at 10am on Saturday.
She was found with a weapon, ammunition, cash and passports about 75 miles from where the shootings took place in Brooklyn Park and Champlin, Minnesota, eight hours earlier.
More than a dozen officers swarmed Jenny Boelter’s car during the traffic stop and they were at the scene for two to three hours.
Jenny was detained for questioning after officers found the items inside the vehicle. No one was arrested, law enforcement officials said.
Whether Boelter’s vehicle was stopped randomly or whether it was being tracked by police is still unclear.
Vance, 57, remains on the run after he allegedly shot State Representative Melissa Hortman and Democrat State Senator John Hoffman. Hortman and her husband Mark (pictured) were tragically killed
Hoffman (pictured) and his wife suffered serious injuries and were raced to emergency surgery. Officials say they are ‘cautiously optimistic’ they will recover
Vance and Jenny Boelter both previously worked under Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, according to Legistorm.
Boelter – who is a Trump supporter – also lived part-time at a rental on Fremont Avenue in north Minneapolis with two roommates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were both shot at their home around 2am on Saturday in Champlin.
Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were then fatally shot at their home in Brooklyn Park around 3am.
Police encountered the gunman fleeing Hortman’s home around 3.35am and exchanged gunfire with him.
Chilling photos that emerged Saturday afternoon showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head.
Officers then let the suspect slip through their fingers as he escaped the scene on foot, according to authorities.
The politicians were shot as several ‘No Kings’ protests were preparing to be held across the country to protest against President Donald Trump.
Vance and Jenny share five children together (pictured)
Who was shot?
Melissa Hortman was one of the most powerful and influential Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota politics. Representing a suburban district north of Minneapolis, she held her House seat for two decades after winning her first race in 2004 – and was re-elected 11 times.
She served as Speaker of the Minnesota House from 2019 through early 2025, steering the chamber through major legislative victories on reproductive rights, voting protections, paid family leave, and early childhood education.
After the 2024 election, in which Democrats and Republicans split the chamber 67-67, Hortman was named Speaker Emeritus and Party Leader as part of a rare bipartisan power-sharing agreement.
Hortman was widely known for her policy expertise and progressive advocacy, particularly on issues of democracy and bodily autonomy.
‘The most rewarding piece of legislation we passed – for me – is paid family and medical leave,’ she said at the close of the 2024 session.
She also pushed for voter protections, including pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds and tougher penalties for election interference.
Melissa Hortman was one of the most powerful and influential Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota politics. Her husband of 25 years, Mark, 55, was a practicing attorney and father of two. (Pictured: The Hortman family)
Born and raised in Fridley, Hortman earned her bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and political science from Boston University, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, and a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Before launching her legal career, Hortman interned for former Vice President Al Gore and worked for Senator John Kerry.
She later served as an assistant attorney in Hennepin County.
Despite her progressive platform, she often emphasized unity across geographic lines: ‘I have no desire for us to be a predominately suburban- and city-based party,’ she once said.
‘I’m committed to… representing agricultural regions and the Iron Range, in addition to the cities and suburbs.’
Her husband of 25 years, Mark, 55, was a practicing attorney and father of two.
A devoted family man, Mark supported his wife’s decades-long political career while remaining active in the Brooklyn Park community, where the couple had lived for more than two decades.
He ran a local law practice focused on civil and family matters, according to public records, and was known among friends and colleagues as steady, thoughtful, and deeply private.
Roughly 90 minutes before the Hortmans were killed, state Senator Hoffman and his wife Yvette (picture) were shot multiple times at their home in Champlin
Hortman and Hoffman are pictured together
Roughly 90 minutes before the Hortmans were killed, state Senator Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot multiple times at their home in Champlin, about eight miles away.
Both remain in critical condition following emergency surgeries, Governor Walz said.
Hoffman, 59, has represented District 34 since 2012. Before joining the legislature, he served on the Anoka-Hennepin School Board, the largest in the state.
He also runs Hoffman Strategic Advisors, a public affairs consulting firm, and has long been involved in disability rights advocacy.
He and Yvette, a community volunteer, share one adult daughter named Hope.
Who is the suspected killer?
Vance Boelter has armed security experience and a history of public service.
He has armed security experience in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and North America through the Praetorian Guard Security Services, his biography on the website said.
‘He brings a great security aspect forged by both many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the US Military,’ it read.
‘Vance Boelter has focused all this experience to make sure Praetorian Guard Security Services covers the needs you have to keep your family and property safe.’
Terrifying images show the suspect behind Saturday’s ‘politically motivated assassinations’ wearing a creepy Halloween-style mask while launching his killing spree
Boelter has also lived a life of public service before Saturday’s tragedies, and he even served on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, which works closely with Walz to give advice on the state’s workforce.
He served on the board from June 2016 to June 2018 as a private sector representative and from December 2019 to January 2023 as a board member.
He was appointed under Governor Walz both times.
Boelter was also the CEO of Red Lion Group, which was based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Red Lion Group has since deleted its website and LinkedIn pages, but Boelter’s LinkedIn said he started at the company in December 2021.
He announced two years ago that he was in the country with his company, working on ‘private business projects.’
Boelter updated his LinkedIn a month ago to say he had returned to the US and was looking for work in the food industry on the corporate side.
He had previously worked at 7-Eleven and Greencore as a general manager, a system manager at Del Monte Foods, and an operational leader at Johnsonville Sausage, according to his LinkedIn.
His LinkedIn also revealed his deep connections to politics, as he asked his followers to vote ahead of the 2020 election.
Boelter has also worked as a pastor as he was seen in a newly unearthed video dancing in a church service in Africa.
The clip, filmed in February 2023, showed him delivering a passionate testimony about how he met Jesus at the age of 17.
‘I met the Lord when I was 17 years old and I gave my life to Jesus Christ,’ he says in the clip.
He went on to describe naming his five children – who he shares with Jenny – after Christian virtues, Grace, Faith, Hope, Joy, and David, in what he calls a testament to God’s blessings on his life.
What were his motivations?
Although Boelter’s exact motivations remain unclear at this time, FBI investigators believe the shootings were politically motivated and are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.
His best friend and roommate David Carlson told local news outlet KARE11 he is an avid Trump supporter and voted for the Republican candidate.
He also described the suspect as a Christian who opposes abortion.
The night before the deadly shots were fired, Boelter texted his roommates he was ‘going to be gone for a while.’
Although Boelter’s exact motivations remain unclear at this time, FBI investigators believe the shootings were politically motivated and are offering a $50,000 reward to for information leading to his whereabouts
His best friend and roommate David Carlson (pictured) said Vance is an avid Trump supporter and voted for the Republican candidate
Carlson, who shared a North Minneapolis home with Boelter, tearfully read aloud text messages from the accused assassin.
‘David and Ron, I love you guys,’ the eerie note began. ‘I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while.’
He also said he ‘may be dead shortly’ and did not wish to involve Carlson or his other roommate Ron Ramsey.
‘I don’t know why he did what he did,’ Carlson told KARE 11.
‘It’s just it’s not Vance. … He had lots of friends, trust me, and I wish I could have been there to stop him.’
The FBI believes Boelter is attempting ‘to potentially flee’ the Twin Cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul, The Washington Post reported.
