Vance Luther Boelter Named as Minnesota Shooting Suspect: Reports
Vance Luther Boelter was named as the suspect in the shooting deaths of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband. A state senator and his wife were also shot and wounded in the series of attacks.
That's according to the New York Post, which cited sources who say Boelter is the suspected gunman. Authorities have not officially named the suspect, who is at large, as Vance Boelter. He's a former appointee of Gov. Tim Walz, the Post reported.
Walz named Boelter, 57, in 2019 "to serve a four-year stint on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board," the Post reported.
That appointment press release is still on the state website. It describes the appointee as Vance Boelter of Inver Grove Heights, MN, and describes him as the "business & industry representative" from Dec. 14, 2019, through Jan. 2, 2023.
That press release says the Workforce Development Board "assists the Governor in: developing, implementing, and modifying the State plan, review of statewide policies and programs, providing recommendations on actions to align and improve the workforce development system and programs, " and other duties.
Vance Boelter previously served "on the Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016 under then-Gov. Mark Dayton," the Post noted.
In addition to the deaths of former House Speaker and state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home, authorities believe the suspect shot state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, according to Gov. Tim Walz, who spoke in a news conference.
Minnesota gunman sought in deadly shootings of lawmaker, her husband identified as former appointee of Tim Walz: sources https://t.co/1oADkNU12q pic.twitter.com/an9YfIPwTi
— New York Post (@nypost) June 14, 2025
Authorities described a chilling sequence of events in the early morning hours. They stopped short of explaining the motive, although the governor called it a targeted political assassination. In addition, police said "No Kings" flyers were found in his car; that's a reference to a series of protests against the current administration.
After receiving word that Hoffman and his wife were shot, police went to check on other lawmakers. The Hoffmans are alive and in the hospital, but were shot multiple times, police say.
At Hortman's home, they encountered the suspect, he said.
Related: Mark Hortman, Melissa Hortman's Husband, Posted Loving Facebook Photos
The suspect was described by KSTP as "a white man with brown hair wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants."
Bruley said the suspect was dressed exactly like a police officer with a taser and vest, and uniform, and he was driving what looked like a police vehicle with the lights on. It was parked in the Hortmans' driveway, but, inside the home, they were already shot to death.
The suspect then fled out the back door of the home, and a massive manhunt ensued, according to Bruley.
Bruley and Drew Evans, of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, both said that the suspect had a manifesto in his car that contained a list of names of other lawmakers and officials, who have now been provided security. Evans said authorities don't have any information that the suspect was going to target No Kings protests, but they are urging people not to attend them as a matter of caution.
The list contained a "large number of people," Evans said.
Although they hesitated to provide a motive early on, all of the victims shot were part of the same political party, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
KSTP reported that Hortman was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2004, and "she served as House speaker from 2019 to 2025. She and her husband are survived by their two children."
Related: Melissa Hortman Posted Now Heartbreaking Tribute to Husband
Related: Minnesota Shooting Suspect Had Manifesto With List of Lawmakers, Police Say