The man suspected of killing one Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another has been taken into custody, two law enforcement officials said, bringing an end to a nearly two-day search that put the state on edge. Vance Boelter was arrested Sunday evening. The arrest was confirmed to the AP by law enforcement officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin home, about 9 miles away.
Boelter was captured in Minnesota, though officials didn't immediately say where. Earlier, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said authorities found a car very early Sunday they believed Boelter was using, a few miles from his home in Green Isle, in the farm country about an hour west of Minneapolis. He also said they found evidence in the car that was relevant to the investigation, but did not provide details. A criminal complaint unsealed Sunday night says Boelter faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.
The Hoffmans were attacked first at their home in Champin early Saturday. After police in nearby Brooklyn Park learned of that shooting, they sent patrol officers to check on the Hortmans' home. Brooklyn Park police officers arrived just in time to see Boelter shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, the complaint says. It says they exchanged gunfire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping the scene. A massive search ensued. Authorities have not yet given details on an alleged motive.
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