Photo: Glenn Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP File
The murder of Democratic politician Melissa Hortman and the attack on Senator John Hoffman shook Minnesota. The attacker was identified as 57-year-old Vance Belter, a conservative and Donald Trump voter. He left behind a "manifesto" with a list of goals and is still on the run
Member of the House of Representatives from the ranks democrat Melissa Hortman - one of the most influential officials of the American federal state Minnesota in the past decade - was killed with her husband Mark on Saturday (June 14) after a man posing as a police officer shot her at her home in Brooklyn Park, the governor said Team Volz.
Walz stated at the press conference that it was a "politically motivated assassination".
"Our state has lost a great leader and I have lost a dearest friend. Hortman was an exceptional public servant, a pillar and a giant of Minnesota," Walz said.
That's not the only attack that day — Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times earlier that evening at their home in Champlain.
Walz said they had undergone surgery and that he was "cautiously optimistic" they would survive the assassination.
The attacker dressed as a police officer
Bureau of Criminal Investigation Director Drew Evans said Champlin police received a call about 2 a.m. that Hoffman and his wife had been shot.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said his officers were assisting colleagues in connection with a shooting in Champlin when a sergeant suggested they also check Melissa Hortman's home a few miles away.
When the police arrived at the politician's address, they found a police vehicle with its lights on. A person dressed as a police officer immediately opened fire on them, Evans said. There was an exchange of fire, but the attacker managed to escape.
A "manifesto" listing lawmakers and other officials was later found in the vehicle. Hortman and Hoffmann were also on the list.
The attacker is still on the run, and Brooklyn Park has been ordered to stay indoors. The AP agency, citing police sources, stated that the suspect is 57-year-old Vance Belter.
Who is Melissa Hortman?
Melissa Hortman was first elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 2004 and served as Speaker of the House from 2019 to 2024. Before winning the elections, she lost twice, which, as she said, taught her what it means to fight for mandates and how to keep them.
Her tenure will be remembered as one of the most influential in recent Minnesota political history. Along with Gov. Volz and Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, she led the country through the pandemic and then contributed to a historic Democratic victory in the 2022 election.
During the 2023 legislative season, she managed to overcome the differences between moderate and progressive members of her caucus and implement an ambitious agenda: legalized abortion rights, invested heavily in education – including free school meals – transportation and housing, introduced paid family leave, legalized marijuana, and passed gun control laws.
John Hoffman: A fighter for people with disabilities
Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman (60), who was wounded on Saturday, has been in office since 2013 and is known for his work in the field of social welfare.
Hoffman is chairman of the Senate Human Services Committee, and his bio on the Minnesota Senate Democrats website says he is a "longtime advocate and leader on issues related to services for people with disabilities and the needs of children and their families," noting that he has worked in that area in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
In 2023, Hoffman sponsored a budget bill that, starting this year, would expand the state's MinnesotaCare health care program to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. On Monday, he voted against legislation that would have repealed that health care for adults starting Jan. 1.
What is known about the attacker?
Police are still looking for 57-year-old Vance Belter, a suspect in the murder of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, as well as the attempted murder of John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Although Belter lived in the small town of Green Isle, about an hour from Minneapolis, he often stayed at the rented house of his longtime friend in the city, David Carlson.
Carlson, 59, spoke to reporters in front of his home on Saturday evening.
"He wasn't a grumpy person. But he needed help," Carlson said of Belter, adding that he and the suspect have known each other since fourth grade in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.
Carlson said Belter was a conservative who voted for President Donald Trump. He was a great opponent of abortion rights. However, he pointed out that Belter never mentioned any particular problem with the lawmakers who were wounded and that he was shocked to learn that his friend was a suspect in the attacks.
"It wasn't the thing that defined him," he said. "I mean, it wasn't his whole identity. He was talking about other things."
Carlson added that Belter had financial problems and had difficulty finding work.
"He was looking, but maybe things didn't go his way and he just gave up and decided to go in a blaze of glory," he said. "I have no idea what he meant exactly."
Carlson said Belter sent messages to friends before the attack warning them he was "going to be gone for a while" and that he "could be dead soon."
"I just want you to know that I love you both and I wish it hadn't turned out like this. I don't want to say more so as not to implicate you in any way because you don't know anything about this, but I love you and I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused," Carlson quoted the message he received as saying.
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