Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday by a suspect posing as a law enforcement officer. Authorities also confirmed that state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot multiple times in a separate attack in Champlin. Governor Tim Walz has described the coordinated shootings as “targeted political violence.”
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the suspect impersonated a police officer and was driving a vehicle equipped to resemble a marked patrol SUV, complete with flashing emergency lights. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said the suspect exchanged gunfire with responding officers before fleeing the scene.
The shootings triggered a shelter-in-place order across the area as law enforcement launched a manhunt. Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson condemned the suspect’s exploitation of police imagery, calling it a “deep betrayal” of public trust.
Hortman, a Democrat first elected in 2004, served as Speaker of the House and was a prominent leader in the state legislature. She and her husband, Mark, leave behind two children. Sen. Hoffman, also a Democrat, remains hospitalized after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. He has served in the Minnesota Senate since 2012 and previously led the state’s largest school district.
President Donald Trump responded to the attack with a statement promising federal support. “Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” the President said.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth called the killings “evil” and asked Minnesotans to pray for the victims and law enforcement officers involved. The attack adds to growing concerns about political violence nationwide, with public officials increasingly targeted in a climate of division and hostility.
The assailant remains at large. Autopsies confirmed that Hortman and her husband died from gunshot wounds. Authorities continue to search for the suspect as investigations intensify with federal involvement.
