Minnesota Lawmaker Shooting Suspect Taken Into Custody
Vance Boelter. X/ @EdKrassen
June 16, 2025 Hour: 10:06 am
The 57-year-old suspect, identified as Vance Luther Boelter, has a history of conservative political leanings.
On Monday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz confirmed that a man believed to be the shooter who killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and wounded another was arrested.
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The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office released a photo Sunday night that showed the 57-year-old suspect, identified as Vance Luther Boelter, being taken into custody by police. He has conservative political preferences.
“The man registered to vote as a Republican in the 2000s and, according to his friend David Carlson, is said to be close to Donald Trump’s administration and a staunch opponent of rights such as abortion and the demands of the LGBT community,” the BBC reported, adding that he had recently faced serious financial and mental health problems.
“The face of evil. After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody. Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together, along with support from the community, justice is one step closer,” The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office noted.
Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband were fatally shot at their home in Brooklyn Park at 3:35 a.m. local time on Saturday. And State Senator John Hoffman, 60, and his wife were critically wounded in a separate attack at their Champlin residence at approximately 2:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, about 13 km away in the U.S. midwestern state.
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said at a Saturday press conference, calling Hortman’s death “a politically motivated assassination.”
The massive manhunt for Boelter involving hundreds of officers from federal, state, and local agencies lasted over 24 hours. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation had offered a 50,000 U.S.-dollar reward for information leading to his arrest.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: Xinhua – EFE – BBC