Minnesota Legislature House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park held a morning press conference to lay out the priorities of the DFL majority Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023 St. Paul, Minn.
Glen Stubb | Star Tribune | Getty Images
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early Saturday in what appears to be a “politically motivated assassination,” Gov. Tim Walz said.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz, former Democratic candidate for vice president, said during a news conference.
Minnesota Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also each shot multiple times, Walz said. They remained alive as of Saturday morning.
“We are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said.
Hortman, a member of the Minnesota House since 2005, served as speaker until earlier this year.
Manhunt underway
A manhunt is underway Saturday for a suspect who was impersonating a police officer at the victims’ homes, authorities said.
Officials said that police responded to a call at about 2 a.m. local time that Hoffman and his wife had been shot.
Police were then “proactively checking” Hortman’s house at around 3:35 a.m., and upon arrival, officers encountered an individual who “immediately fired” at them, Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said during a briefing.
The suspect escaped from the back of the house amid the exchange of gunfire, officials said.
Officials said that they identified the suspect’s car, which had emergency lights and sirens resembling a police car.
Upon searching the suspect’s car, officials also found a “manifesto” naming other lawmakers and officials.
The lawmakers’ homes are about eight miles apart, in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis.
Trump briefed
President Donald Trump has been “briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota,” according to a statement.
Trump said that anybody involved will be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” Trump continued.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also said that she is “closely monitoring developments in Minnesota after what appears to be a targeted attack against state lawmakers.”
Bondi said the FBI is on the ground in Minnesota and working with state and local law enforcement.
“This horrific violence will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi wrote on X.
Officials recommend against attending political rallies in Minnesota
Minnesota State Patrol warned the public not to attend planned demonstrations across the state on Saturday “out of an abundance of caution” due to the “targeting shootings of state lawmakers overnight.”
“Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,” Walz wrote on X.
Thousands of demonstrations are planned nationwide as part of “No Kings Day” to protest Trump’s policies.
Lawmakers condemn shootings
Statements condemning the violence poured in from lawmakers and officials around the country following the attacks.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said that his “heart is broken” by the “senseless murders.”
“This senseless violence must end,” Martin said in a statement.
“These heinous murders are a reflection of the extremism and political violence that have been fomented in our country,” he continued.
“Lawmakers should be able to do their job without fear for their lives.”
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