Vance Boelter, the suspect in the killings of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted killings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, "crawled" out of the woods near his rural Green Isle property on Sunday, ending what was "the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history," per the New York Times. Here's what we know:
- The break: It came when officers found a vehicle Boelter had used a few miles from his farm property in rural Sibley County, about an hour west of Minneapolis, early Sunday, per the Guardian and Times. Authorities reportedly also found a tan cowboy hat Boelter had been seen wearing a day earlier.
- Capture: After a 43-hour search, the armed Boelter was spotted running into some woods and was surrounded by SWAT teams before surrendering Sunday evening, per the AP and the Times. He "crawled to law enforcement teams" and was arrested without the use of force, said Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger.
- Disguise: Boelter is accused of fatally shooting the Hoffmans in their home around 2am Saturday, before driving to the home of the Hortmans and shooting them as well. Officials say he wore a fake police uniform and drove a vehicle designed to look like a law enforcement vehicle, with a license plate that read "police," per the Times.
- Crucial check: Brooklyn Park officers proactively checked on the Hortmans following the report about the Hoffmans and saw the suspect shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home. Boelter then escaped but was forced to abandon his vehicle and the key evidence inside, officials said.
- Key quote: "If that had not happened, I have every confidence that this would have continued throughout the day," said Drew Evans, superintendent of the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, per the Daily Beast.
- Targets: A notebook found in Boelter's vehicle listed 70 potential targets, including doctors, Planned Parenthood centers, business and community leaders, and other Democratic lawmakers—Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Reps. Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar among them, per the Times.
- Suspect: Friends and family describe Boelter, a married father with five children, as a devout Christian, Trump supporter, and opponent of abortion, per the AP. He formerly served as an evangelical pastor in the the Democratic Republic of Congo and was not known to have made any public threats.
- Board connection: Boelter once served on a state board, the Workforce Development Board, with John Hoffman. They attended a virtual meeting together in 2022 but may not have known each other, per the Times. Hoffman was reportedly shot nine times, his wife eight times.
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