Minnesota shooter tried to kill lawmaker's daughter in assassination attempt: Prosecutor
The manaccused of assassinating a Minnesota lawmakerand plotting to assassinate others allegedly claimed in a letter to the FBI director that he was threatened in a far-fetched conspiracy claim prosecutors have called a "delusion." The letter allegedly written by Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was unsealed as prosecutors announced July 15 he had beenindicted by a federal grand juryon six counts, some of which could carry the death penalty, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph Thompson. Boelter was accused of shooting to deathMinnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman, her husband Markand their dog, and shooting and injuring State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. The indictment and newly released court records reveal additional details about the night of terror that unfolded in the early morning hours of June 14, Thompson said in a news conference on July 15. In addition to the letter addressed to FBI DirectorKash Patelthe investigation has revealed additional camera footage of the attacks and details of how Boelter, dressed as a police officer, also allegedly tried to kill theHoffmans' daughter, Hope,Thompson said. "This political assassination, the likes of which had never occurred here in the state of Minnesota, has shook our state at a foundational level," Thompson said. Boelter wasindicted on six counts, Thompson said July 15, including two murder counts, stalking with the intent to murder and firearm charges. Each count carries a penalty of up to life in prison, with the two capital murder charges also putting the death penalty on the table. Prosecutors won't decide whether to pursue the death penalty until a later stage, Thompson said. USA TODAY reached out to the Office of the Federal Defender, which had been representing Boelter, for comment on the indictment. Boelter, wearing a "hyper-realistic" silicone mask and dressed to impersonate a police officer, complete with an SUV with flashing lights, drove around the Minneapolis suburbs in the early morning hours of June 14 to the homes of multiple lawmakers, authorities have said. At the Hoffman home in Champlin, Boelter knocked and shouted, "This is the police. Open the door," at about 2 a.m., according to a previously released affidavit. He shot John and Yvette Hoffman multiple times, according to the affidavit. Boelter thenallegedly drove to two more state lawmakers' homes; one wasn't home and at the other home, he encountered law enforcement and left. Later in the morning at about 3:30 a.m., he made it to the home of the Hortmans. Police officers who knew about the shooting at the Hoffman home also went to the Hortman house to do a welfare check and saw Boelter, who exchanged gunfire with them before fleeing on foot, according to the affidavit. Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed. The shootings commenced a two-day manhunt that authorities have described as the largest in state history. New details from the investigation reveal that not only did Boelter shoot and injure John and Yvette Hoffman, he also tried to shoot their adult daughter, Hope, Thompson told reporters on July 15. Hope Hoffman is now named in the indictment as an intended victim, he said. Thompson said Hope Hoffman was "miraculously" not shot. "Both John and Yvette acted with incredible bravery to put themselves between Boelter's bullets and their daughter," Thompson said. Hope Hoffman told USA TODAY in a statement that she was relieved that the perpetrator is being charged "to the fullest extent of the law." "Though I was not shot physically, I will now forever coexist with the PTSD of watching my parents be nearly shot dead in front of me and seeing my life flash before my eyes with a gun in my face," she said. Additional footage from security cameras at the Hortmans' home and from a police vehicle revealed new details about what happened leading up to and during the murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman, Thompson said. Shortly before 3:30 a.m., Boelter pulled up to the home in an SUV designed to look like a police vehicle with flashing lights, wearing his disguise, Thompson said. He approached the door, rang the doorbell and shouted, "Police. Welfare check," Thompson said. Mark Hortman answered the door, and Boelter shined a flashlight into his eyes and told him there were reports of shots fired at the home. Mark Hortman said he had been asleep and didn't know about a shooting. He asked for a name and badge number, and Boelter replied, "Nelson, 286," according to Thompson. While Boelter was still talking to Mark Hortman at the door, the officers from the Brooklyn Park Police Department arrived. Moments later, Boelter fired a "volley" of shots into the home, Thompson said. The officers then exchanged gunshot with Boelter. Cameras captured audio of another round of gunfire. Thompson said Boelter shot and killed Mark Hortman in the entryway of the home, then moved passed him and shot Melissa Hortman "several times at close range, killing her as she attempted to flee up the stairs." "In those same moments you can hear Boelter kill the Hortmans' dog, their golden retriever Gilbert," Thompson said. Thompson said a key part of the investigation has been to determine if Boelter was acting alone and what his motive was. He said investigators are "confident" that Boelter acted alone and that there is no evidence anyone helped him. The investigation "confirmed this was an act of political extremism," Thompson said. "Vance Boelter set out that night to commit a targeted political assassination." While Boelter didn't leave behind writings explaining his political beliefs, he did leave behind a letter in an abandoned car near his farm house. The car was left with a cowboy hat on the hood, Thompson said. The letter, addressed to Patel, includes a confession that Boelter is the man who shot the Hoffmans and Hortmans, Thompson said. In the letter, Boelter claimed he was trained by the U.S. military "off the books" and had been "approached" by Minnesota Gov. Tom Walz about killing other lawmakers, Thompson said. The letter also claimed that unnamed people "threatened to hurt his family if he didn't participate." Thompson said the conspiracy theory was a fantasy. "Was it a delusion that he believes, or was it a delusion that is designed as an effort to misdirect our investigation or to, frankly, excuse his crimes? Well, that's a good question. It certainly seems designed to excuse his crimes," Thompson said. Contributing: Marina Pitofsky and Corey Schmidt This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Minnesota lawmaker shootings investigation reveals new details
Minnesota shooter tried to kill lawmaker's daughter in assassination attempt: Prosecutor The manaccused of assassinating a Minnesota law...
