A hunt is underway for a former Tim Walz appointee after two US politicians were targeted by a gunman ‘impersonating a police officer’.
Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed at their homes.
State senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in their home but are expected to survive after surgeries.
Officers are now searching for 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who was appointed by Walz in 2019 to serve on the Minnesota State Governor’s Workforce Development Board.
The attack happened in the early hours of this morning in the suburban city of Brooklyn Park, where a shelter-in-place order is in effect.
An SUV ‘equipped to look like a police vehicle’ was found abandoned as the suspect fled the scene.
Inside, police allegedly discovered a ‘manifesto’ naming other Minnesota politicians, who have since been put under enhanced protection.
Donald Trump confirmed he has been briefed on the shooting, which Walz said appears to be a ‘politically motivated assassination’.
People have been urged not to attend planned ‘No Kings’ demonstrations against Trump’s administration across the state on Saturday.
At the time of her death, Hortman was the top Democratic leader in the state Legislature and was also a former House speaker.
She was first elected in 2004. She and her husband had two children.
Walz said an ‘unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota, adding that the state has lost a ‘great leader’ and he has lost a ‘great friend’.
During a press conference, he said: ‘We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence. Those responsible for this will be held accountable.’
Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said the suspect was posing as a police officer.
He said: ‘Suspect exploited the trust of our uniforms, what our uniforms are meant to represent.
‘That betrayal is deeply disturbing to those of us who wear the badge with honor and responsibility.’
Police Chief Mark Bruley said the suspect fled out of the back of Hortman’s house after an exchange of gunfire with police.
The suspect was dressed like a uniformed officer and operating a vehicle that ‘looked exactly like an SUV squad car.’
Bruley added: ‘It was equipped with lights, emergency lights and looked exactly like a police vehicle.’
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack ‘evil’ and said she was “heartbroken beyond words” by the killings of Hortman and her husband, Mark.
‘With the law enforcement response ongoing and details still emerging, I will simply ask all Minnesotans to please lift up in prayer the victims of this horrific attack, as well as the law enforcement personnel still working to apprehend the perpetrator’, she said in a statement.
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