The man who authorities say shot and killed House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and also injured Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, visited the homes of four lawmakers with the intent to kill, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed on Monday.

The Justice Department is charging 57-year-old Vance Boelter with federal murder, stalking and shooting offenses. If convicted on the federal murder charge, he could face the death penalty.

“Boelter planned his attack carefully” by researching his intended victims and their families and conducting surveillance of their homes and taking notes, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said. In all, he had composed a hit list of 45 elected lawmakers — all Democrats.

“Political assassinations are rare. They strike at the very core of our democracy. But the details of Boelter’s crime are even worse — they are truly chilling,” Thompson said. “It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares.”

When asked why U.S. prosecutors have not brought terrorism charges, Thompson said the investigation is still in its early stages and more charges could still come.

“We brought the charges that we think are appropriate right now,” Thompson said.

How the shootings played out

According to charging documents, Boelter first went to the Hoffman residence in Champlin around 2 a.m. He had disguised himself as a police officer, wearing a tactical vest and a “hyper-realistic silicone mask” while shining a flashlight.

Boelter knocked on the Hoffmans’ door and repeatedly announced himself as a police officer. The Hoffmans answered the door, and Boelter reportedly said there had been a shooting reported at the home and asked if the Hoffmans had any guns.

Yvette Hoffman noticed Boelter was wearing a mask and pointed out he wasn’t a cop. At that point, he changed tone and said his visit was now a robbery, according to the complaint. John Hoffman tried to push him through the door, and Boelter shot him several times. Boelter shot Yvette Hoffman as she closed the door, and their daughter, Hope, called 911.

After shooting Hoffman and his wife, Boelter allegedly went to Maple Grove to the home of a state representative who has not been identified. That lawmaker was on vacation and wasn’t home, according to Thompson.

Next, Boelter went to a state senator’s home in New Hope, where local law enforcement say they had been sent for a welfare check. A New Hope police officer happened upon Boelter in his black SUV, which he had outfitted to look like a police cruiser, and thought he was another officer dispatched to the scene. When the officer tried to speak to him, he did not respond and drove away.

In a statement, State Sen. Ann Rest confirmed Boelter stopped near her home in New Hope.

“I am so grateful for the heroic work of the New Hope Police Department and its officers. Their quick action saved my life,” Rest said. “I am also thankful for the work of state and local law enforcement to apprehend the suspect before he could take any more lives.”

Boelter’s next stop was Hortman’s home in Brooklyn Park. Two Brooklyn Park police officers arrived and saw Boelter’s SUV in the driveway with the lights flashing. Boelter was standing several feet from the front door. He allegedly drew his gun, charged in the house and began shooting, killing Melissa and Mark Hortman. Boelter ran through the house and escaped through the back door.

He left behind the fake police car, as well as the tactical vest, his mask and a disassembled pistol. Inside the car, investigators found five guns, including AK-47 assault rifles, a trove of loaded magazines, a medical kit, and several journals of handwritten notes listing the names of dozens of state and federal elected officials. Boelter was listed as the purchaser of at least four of the firearms.

“This was a targeted attack against individuals who answered the call to public service,” said Alvin Winston, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. The resulting search, he said, was the largest manhunt in the history of the state.

The search

Around 6:18 a.m. Saturday, Boelter texted his wife and other family members, the federal affidavit states.

“Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” he wrote to the group.

Separately, he texted his wife: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this sitution. … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around.”

As first reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, authorities searched the car of Boelter’s wife and found $10,000 in cash, two guns, and passports for her and her children, who were in the car.

The search then led law enforcement to focus on a house in north Minneapolis where Boelter lived part-time with his childhood friend.

Inside the home on Fremont Avenue North, investigators found a handwritten list of names similar to what was scrawled inside the notebooks found in the fake police car. The notebooks detailed the names and home addresses of elected officials, including Rep. Hortman. Boelter had noted she was married and had two children and that her house backed up to a golf course.

Footage showed Boelter returning to that home in Minneapolis after shooting the Hoffmans and the Hortmans.

Charging documents allege Boelter met someone at a bus stop at 48th and Lyndale avenues around 7 a.m. This person told investigators he had no prior connection to Boelter.

Boelter was carrying two duffel bags and asked the man if he could purchase his e-bike. The man agreed, and they rode the bus to his house, where Boelter also offered to buy the man’s Buick sedan.

They drove to a bank in Robbinsdale, and Boelter withdrew $2,200 in cash. That’s where surveillance cameras captured him wearing a cowboy hat.

Boelter paid the man $900 for both the Buick and the e-bike.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, there was a report of someone riding an e-bike about 2 miles from Boelter’s home in Green Isle, about an hour southwest of the Twin Cities. Further investigation found the Buick abandoned on Highway 25 near where the man on an e-bike was sighted.

While searching the Buick, law enforcement found the cowboy hat seen on the bank surveillance camera and a note written to the FBI from “Dr. Vance Luther Boelter,” admitting to being “the shooter at large in Minnesota.”

Thompson said there is nothing in the charging documents to suggest that Boelter had accomplices, but that investigators are continuing to look into whether or not anyone helped him and whether or not they will be charged with a crime. 

“Our investigation remains ongoing in several areas, including whether or not he had anyone helping him, assisting him in either carrying out these attacks or fleeing from them,” Thompson said during a news conference Monday.

He was arrested shortly after 9 p.m. in a farm field about a mile from his home in Green Isle.

State charges

Boelter is also charged in Hennepin County on state charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office quickly filed a complaint on Saturday to secure a nationwide warrant for Boelter’s arrest. Prosecutors unsealed those documents on Sunday.

Moriarty said on Monday her office plans to pursue a grand jury indictment on charges of first-degree murder, a crime that carries a life sentence.

“We intend to go forward on this case because we are accountable to protect our community and hold people who commit crimes in this county accountable,” Moriarty said.

First appearance

Boelter arrived at the federal courthouse in St. Paul around 10:30 a.m. Monday, wearing a jumpsuit and sandals and under the escort of U.S. marshals.

During his initial hearing at 1:30 p.m., he requested a public defender. The judge overseeing the case agreed to appoint one.

Pointing to the scope of the two-day manhunt for Boelter, U.S. attorneys argued that he showed a tendency to flee and asked for him to remain in custody until trial.

A detention hearing is set for 11 a.m. on June 27.

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