UPDATE: Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect in custody
(The Center Square) – The suspect wanted in connection with the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, killing one of the couples, is now in custody, authorities said late Sunday.
Vance Boelter, 57, was apprehended Sunday after a nearly two day manhunt following the attacks.
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Authorities on Sunday say they found the car of the man wanted in connection with the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, killing one of the couples. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, was not with the car.
Drew Evans with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Sunday authorities are seeking the public’s help locating Boelter, who is considered armed and dangerous.
“We are asking for the public’s help at this point in time in locating Vance Luther Boelter, who is a 57-year-old white male, 6 feet 1 inches tall, 220 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes,” Evans said. “We still don’t know if additional people are involved, but this individual is the one that we are looking as a person of interest now.”
Boelter’s wife was reportedly stopped near Onamia, Minnesota, on Saturday and found with a weapon, ammunition, cash and passports, according to KSTP Channel 5. KSTP reported that Boelter’s wife was the subject of a traffic stop at a convenience store located near Onamia late Saturday morning in a vehicle carrying at least three other relatives of the accused shooter.
Authorities also think Boelter is no longer in the area of the shootings and issued an alert to South Dakota authorities.
House Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed early Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz called a politically-motivated assassination.
State Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and his wife also were shot about 2 a.m., and Hortman and her husband were found about 90 minutes later.
The gunman allegedly escaped through a back door of Hortman’s house following an exchange of gunfire with police. Media outlets reported that Boelter had a list of about 70 names in his vehicle which included the lawmakers who were shot, other lawmakers and abortion providers.
The shootings happened seven miles away from each other, and law enforcement officials have called both shootings “targeted.”
Boelter was appointed by Walz to serve on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board in 2019. Various media outlets reported that he is the director of Praetorian Guard Security Services, where he had access to police-like security equipment.
The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Boelter.
