The man suspected of killing Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and injuring Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, is in police custody facing federal and state murder charges.
Who is the suspect?
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, of Sibley County, is a graduate of St. Cloud State University, attended the Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas and was an appointee to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board.
From 2019-2023, Boelter served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman as a business and industry representative, according to the Associated Press. It is unclear whether the two knew each other well.
The Praetorian Guard Security Services website, which is no longer active, lists Boelter as the director of security patrols for the company, which says it provides security services to residential homes. Boelter’s wife is listed as the manager of Praetorian on the Secretary of State filing, and as the president and CEO on the business’ website.
Praetorian Guard, whose main location is listed in Gaylord, in Sibley County, is registered as a business with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, but National Public Radio found no record of the firm having clients or providing any services.
While Boelter once engaged with Minnesota Africans United, a nonprofit supporting African immigrant communities in the state, the organization said he “was never hired, paid, or contracted by Minnesota Africans United. He has never served in any official (or unofficial) capacity as a representative of our organization,” and participated in a virtual webinar once in 2022.
What is he being charged with?
Boelter was found in a field in Green Isle, close to a mile from his home, and taken into custody at about 9:10 p.m. Sunday, following a two-day manhunt.
Boelter is being charged federally with stalking Hortman and Hoffman, murdering Melissa and Mark Hortman and with firearms offenses.
He is also charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with two counts of second-degree murder-not premeditated and two counts of attempted murder. The office announced Monday it would seek an indictment on first-degree murder charges as well.
What happened?
At 2:05 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a call from Hoffmans’ adult daughter reporting that her parents had been shot.
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The suspect, impersonating an officer, shot John Hoffman nine times and his wife eight times, according to charges.
The two received medical care and have survived the injuries.
At 3:30 a.m., Brooklyn Park officers went to the Hortman home after learning of the shooting at the Hoffman home. A black SUV was parked outside the Hortman home with police-style lights that were on and flashing, according to the Associated Press.
Officers saw Boelter standing near the front door of the home and saw him fire multiple gunshots inside. Melissa and Mark Hortman were found with multiple gunshot wounds and did not survive. Their dog was also hit.
What happened to the Hortmans’ dog?
Gilbert, the Hortman family’s Golden Retriever, was originally trained by Hortman through the nonprofit Helping Paws MN to be a service dog. When his training didn’t go as planned, he was welcomed into the family.
Gilbert was euthanized due to his injuries.
Helping Paws stated in a Facebook post that they will make a formal announcement establishing a fund in honor of the Hortman family and Gilbert, to support their program placing service dogs with veterans and first responders living with PTSD.
How did he impersonate officers?
This image provided by the FBI on Saturday, June 14, 2025, shows part of a poster with photos of Vance L. Boelter. (FBI via AP)
Boelter was “disguised as a police officer, and heavily armed with firearms and body armor,” according to a criminal complaint. The SUV he used was also altered to look like a police vehicle and had a fake license plate that read ‘Police.’
The suspect approached the homes wearing a flesh-colored mask covering his entire head, a black tactical vest and holding a flashlight.
At the Hoffman house, Boelter knocked on the door and shouted repeatedly, “This is the police. Open the door,” according to the criminal complaint. The Hoffmans reported that the suspect shined a flashlight in their eyes and asked if they had any firearms before shooting.
Where was he between the Hoffman and Hortman shootings?
According to officials, in the 90 minutes between the two shootings, the suspect visited the homes of two other legislators in Maple Grove and New Hope.
The legislator in Maple Grove was not home at the time of Boelter’s arrival and law enforcement intervened at the location in New Hope, causing the suspect to flee. Officials have stated that if the lawmakers were home or there hadn’t been intervention, more people would have likely been harmed.
What are his values and political beliefs?
While officials have not determined a clear motive for the attacks, the incident has been referred to as notably politically charged.
Those who knew Boelter have described him as a devout Christian and a political conservative. Voting records from the early 2000s show that Boelter was a registered Republican in Oklahoma. Friends and former colleagues said he attended campaign rallies for President Donald Trump but didn’t talk much about politics or seem ‘extreme.’
Boelter also appeared to criticize gay and transgender people in several sermons at a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the New York Times.
While serving as an evangelical pastor at a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, Boelter gave a sermon on ‘unity within the body of Christ,’ and expressed his disappointment with abortion in the US, the Associated Press reports.
What evidence was found?
Police found in Boelter’s SUV at least three AK-47 rifles, a 9mm handgun, a medical kit and a handwritten list of more than 45 names, including prominent state and federal lawmakers, mostly Democrats, community leaders, abortion rights activists and addresses and information for health care facilities.
Hortman’s and Hoffman’s addresses, along with the public official in Maple Grove and the home addresses for at least two other state officials, were logged in the vehicle’s GPS navigation system history.
Officers also found a ballistic vest, a disassembled 9mm firearm, a face mask and a gold police-style badge near the area where the vehicle was found.
Boelter purchased an electronic bike and a Buick sedan from a stranger he met at a bus stop in Minneapolis around 7 a.m. Saturday, which he used to evade officers.
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When law enforcement searched the abandoned Buick, a handwritten letter directed to the FBI, read that “Dr. Vance Luther Boelter” was “the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings the morning of Saturday, June 15th,” according to a criminal complaint.
Are the victims receiving support?
Community memorials have been created both inside and outside the State Capitol. Members of the public and state leaders, including Gov. Tim Walz, have visited the site to pay their respects and grieve the loss of state leadership.
Fundraisers have been established on GoFundMe for the Hortman family (gofund.me/08964165) and the Hoffman family (gofund.me/f82790ae).
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