Police Saw Vance Boelter Kill Mark Hortman, Newly Released Criminal Complaint Reveals

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — New details from a criminal complaint reveal how Vance Luther Boelter, 57, posed as a police officer before fatally shooting former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, according to investigators.

Boelter was officially charged Monday morning in Hennepin County with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

Prosecutors are seeking first-degree (premeditated) murder charges against Boelter. In Minnesota, those charges require a grand jury indictment

Boelter's arrest late Sunday night in rural Sibley County followed what Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley described as the “largest manhunt in the state’s history,” involving 20 SWAT teams.

On Saturday, June 14, at about 2:05 a.m., Champlin police officers responded to a 911 call reporting that a masked man had shot the caller’s parents. Inside the residence, officers found Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, both suffering from gunshot wounds. Both survived and remain hospitalized.

Surveillance footage from outside the Hoffmans’ home showed a Ford SUV with police-style lights parked in the driveway. It also showed a man, later identified as Vance Luther Boelter, 57, wearing a mask, a blue shirt, and a tactical vest with a badge and a yellow-gripped gun. He carried a flashlight, knocked on the door, and announced himself as a police officer before opening fire, according to the complaint.

Boelter fled in the SUV after the attack.

About an hour later, Brooklyn Park police were proactively dispatched to the home of Rep. Melissa Hortman, due to Hoffman’s status as a state legislator.

When officers arrived at around 3:35 a.m., they found the same SUV with police-style lights at the scene.

Authorities saw Boelter, still dressed as an officer, fatally shoot Hortman’s husband, Mark Hortman, through the open door. Police exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who then fled into the house and escaped on foot.

Inside the home, police found Melissa and Mark Hortman dead from gunshot wounds.

Investigators later searched Boelter’s vehicle, which was registered to him. Inside, they found three AK-47-style assault rifles, a 9mm handgun, a ballistic vest, a disassembled firearm, a mask, and a gold police-style badge, according to the complaint. A list of names and addresses of other public officials was also recovered.

Boelter was identified by someone familiar with him, who confirmed he was the man seen in the Champlin surveillance footage.

Read more:

• $5M Bail Set For Accused Political Assassin Vance Boelter After Manhunt, Murder Charges Filed
• See The Criminal History Of Vance Boelter, Now Charged With Murder In MN Lawmaker Shootings