Authorities apprehended Vance Luther Boelter late Sunday, the suspect in Saturday’s killing of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark in what was called a “politically motivated assassination.”
Boelter, 57, was taken into custody in a rural area of Sibley County, Minnesota under a state criminal warrant, authorities said at a press briefing Sunday.
Boelter also allegedly shot Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in a separate attack Saturday morning. Both were in stable condition Sunday evening.
“This is the largest manhunt in the state’s history,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said at the briefing. By the time Boelter was taken into custody, there were more than 20 SWAT teams from across the state helping to search a large, wooded area.
Boelter was armed when he was apprehended, said Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol. But his arrest was not the result of a violent confrontation with police.
“There was no use of force by any member of law enforcement that was out there, and the suspect was taken into custody without any use of force,” Geiger said.
Officials would not say precisely where Boelter was being held on Sunday night, only that he was being “interviewed at a law enforcement facility.”
Authorities said they believe Boelter was acting alone on Saturday, when he put on a latex mask and a law enforcement style uniform before attacking both the Hortmans and the Hoffmans at their homes.
But they did not rule out the possibility that someone could have provided less direct assistance. “Everybody who did help him, we will certainly hold them accountable for doing that,” said Drew Evans, superintendent the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The search had zeroed in on Sibley County earlier Sunday, after Boelter’s car was discovered there, authorities said.
Boelter had been carrying a list of other potential targets, including a number of officials and lawmakers.
The list included “other thoughts,” interspersed with the names and other documents.
Minnesota is still reeling from the attacks, and statements poured in all weekend mourning the loss of Hortman, who served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives until earlier this year.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted a photo of Hortman on X Sunday and wrote, “the most consequential Speaker in state history.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a true “true public servant” who was loved by lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
Lawmakers also condemned the act of political violence, which Walz said appeared to be politically motivated.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that “such horrific violence will not be tolerated” in the United States.
