Minnesota Legislature House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park held a morning press conference to lay out the priorities of the DFL majority Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023 St. Paul, Minn.
Glen Stubb | Star Tribune | Getty Images
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early Saturday in what appears to be a “politically motivated assassination,” Gov. Tim Walz said.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz, former Democratic candidate for vice president, said during a news conference.
Minnesota Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also each shot multiple times, Walz said. They remained alive as of Saturday morning.
“We are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said.
A manhunt was underway Saturday for a suspect who was impersonating a police officer at the victims’ homes, authorities said.
Officials said that they identified the suspect’s car, which had lights and sirens resembling a police car, NBC News reports.
Officials also found a “manifesto” naming other lawmakers.
“We have people of interest that we are looking for,” authorities said, per NBC News.
The lawmakers’ homes are about eight miles apart, in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis.
Minnesota State Patrol warned the public not to attend planned demonstrations across the state on Saturday “out of an abundance of caution” due to the “targeting shootings of state lawmakers overnight.”
Thousands of demonstrations are planned nationwide as part of “No Kings Day” to protest Trump administration policies.
President Donald Trump has been “briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota,” according to a statement.
Trump said that anybody involved will be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” Trump continued.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also said that she is “closely monitoring developments in Minnesota after what appears to be a targeted attack against state lawmakers.”
Bondi said the FBI is on the ground in Minnesota and working with state and local law enforcement.
“This horrific violence will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi wrote on X.
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