A man has been taken into custody after a US politician and her husband were shot dead in Minnesota on Saturday, law enforcement officials have said.
Authorities had urged the public not to approach Vance Boelter, 57, who they said could be armed, and who was reportedly posing as a police officer.
A massive manhunt was launched after Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at their home in a Minneapolis suburb in what governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.
Police said the same gunman that killed the Hortmans had earlier shot and wounded Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away.
Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside.
Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.
They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.
“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.
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‘We are both incredibly lucky to be alive’
Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
The text from Yvette Hoffman added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.
Read more:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
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Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.
However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.
Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.
She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.
Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.
