Minnesota legislators shot; House DFL leader Melissa Hortman killed
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 20 October 2026.Melissa Hortman, Minnesota House DFL leader, and her husband Mark are shot and killed; Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette are wounded. Vance Boelter later pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Melissa Hortman, leader of the Minnesota House DFL caucus, and her husband Mark were shot and killed at their home in Brooklyn Park. Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded at their home in Champlin. The gunman, who approached both homes impersonating a police officer, was arrested after a two-day manhunt near his family’s residence in Green Isle.
Investigators recovered notebooks from the suspect’s vehicle listing more than 45 Minnesota state and federal public officials, including Hortman, whose home address was written next to her name; according to the FBI affidavit, one of the notebooks also listed internet people-search sites that compile home addresses and other personal details. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, cautioned against describing the notebooks as a manifesto: “I want to clarify for everybody, this is not a document … that would be like a traditional manifesto.”
Governor Tim Walz said the same day that “we are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint,” and publicly described the shootings as politically motivated.
Vance Boelter pleaded guilty in June 2026 to all six federal counts, including stalking and murder through use of a firearm, and was sentenced in July 2026 to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years. According to court documents cited at sentencing, Boelter acted alone, extensively researched his intended targets, and used disguises, firearms, and law-enforcement-style equipment to gain access to the victims’ residences. The sentencing memorandum filed by U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen called the attack “an act of political violence that struck at the core of representative government.” A Hennepin County grand jury separately indicted Boelter in August 2025 on two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, impersonating a police officer and felony animal cruelty; that state prosecution remained pending after the federal sentencing.
Sources
- 01.
United States Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota. After Two-Day Manhunt, Suspect Charged in Shooting of Two Minnesota Lawmakers and Their Spouses. (2025). Charging announcement of 16 June 2025. Describes notebooks listing dozens of Minnesota state and federal elected officials, often with home addresses.
- 02.
United States Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota. Vance Boelter Indicted for the Murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman and the Shootings of John and Yvette Hoffman. (2025). Six-count federal indictment returned 15 July 2025.
- 03.
United States Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota. Vance Boelter Sentenced to Two Consecutive Life Terms Plus 40 Years Consecutive for Stalking and Murdering Minnesota State Legislators. (2026). Federal sentencing of 23 July 2026, following a guilty plea to all six counts on 11 June 2026.
- 04.
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Criminal Complaint and Affidavit, United States v. Vance Luther Boelter, No. 0:25-cr-00272 (D. Minn.). (2025). Sworn FBI affidavit. Paragraph 32 records notebooks listing more than 45 Minnesota state and federal public officials, with Representative Hortman's home address written beside her name; paragraph 33 records a notebook listing internet-based people-search engines that aggregate home addresses and other personal details.
- 05.
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minnesota lawmaker shootings: Who was on Vance Boelter's hit list?. (2025). Report of 16 June 2025 quoting BCA superintendent Drew Evans clarifying that the notebook is 'not a document … that would be like a traditional manifesto' and is primarily a list of names.
- 06.
Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. Governor Tim Walz Statement on Targeted Political Violence. (2025). Walz's statement of 14 June 2025, the source for the quoted line 'We are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint.'
- 07.
MPR News. Murder prosecution at the state level for Vance Boelter in lawmaker attacks moves forward. (2026). Source for the August 2025 Hennepin County grand jury indictment and its counts — two of first-degree murder, four of attempted murder, impersonating a police officer and felony animal cruelty — and for the state case remaining pending after the federal sentencing.
- 08.
MPR News. Prosecutors say Boelter should 'never be free ever again' in Minnesota lawmaker shootings. (2026). Report of 21 July 2026 on the federal sentencing memorandum from U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, quoting it as calling the attack 'an act of political violence that struck at the core of representative government' and stating that Boelter acted alone, extensively researched his targets and disguised himself as a police officer.
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