The victims were targeted for political assassination, authorities believe.
A Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in their home by an assailant allegedly imitating a police officer. Another legislator and his wife were shot in their home as well but survived. Governor Tim Walz said at a news conference Saturday that the shootings appeared to be “a politically motivated assassination,” and the suspect is still at large.
State Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and her husband, Mark, were the victims who died. State Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin and his wife, Yvette, were injured in a separate shooting. By the time Gov. Walz spoke to the press, the Hoffmans were out of surgery. He reported that they were “receiving care, and we are cautiously optimally optimistic, they will survive this assassination attempt.” Both lawmakers belonged to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The families lived about eight miles from each other.
The police believe the suspect – who has yet to be apprehended – impersonated a law enforcement officer, using the victims’ trust in the uniform against them early Saturday morning. The Brooklyn Park Police Department has issued a shelter-in-place alert for the area surrounding the Edinburgh Golf Course while they conduct the manhunt. The governor also activated the State Emergency Operations Center, and assured that “Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them.”
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