NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n\n- Minnesota officials have identified a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses on Saturday, June 14<\/li>\n
- Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was identified as the suspect, officials announced in a press conference on Saturday afternoon<\/li>\n
- Police previously revealed that a suspect was “absolutely impersonating a police officer” ahead of the shootings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Authorities have identified a man they believe is connected to the\u00a0shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers<\/a>\u00a0this weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nVance Luther Boelter, 57, was identified as the suspect by officials during a press conference on Saturday afternoon, June 14.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThey asked for the public’s assistance in helping locate the suspect, whom they said was last seen “wearing a light-colored cowboy hat with a dark-colored long-sleeve collared shirt or coat, light pants and carrying a dark bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>Officials announce that Vance Luther Boelter is a person of interest in the Minnesota lawmaker shooting.<\/span>Minnesota Department of Public Safety\/YouTube<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOfficials also urged the public to call 911 should they encounter the suspect and not approach him, as he is considered “armed and dangerous.”<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe latest update arrives hours after state Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark, were killed in an attack on the morning of Saturday, June 14, officials shared in a press conference. Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette, both survived a separate shooting.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>Melissa & Mark Hortman and John & Yvette Hoffman were targeted by the same suspect, authorities believe.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBrooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley announced on Saturday around 10 a.m. local time that a suspect, who was “absolutely impersonating a police officer” ahead of the shootings, fled the scene “on foot” and that a “manifesto<\/a>” was discovered in a vehicle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBoelter is a father and husband who has previously worked full-time for Nestle, Del Monte, Tesoro, Marathon Speedway, and 7-Eleven, according to his bio on the Minnesota Africans United website.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nPer his description, the reported suspect is also the CEO of Praetorian Guard Security Services, which is based in Minnesota. He has been \u201cinvolved with security situations\u201d in multiple countries, according to the security company\u2019s\u00a0website<\/a>, which lists him as “director of security controls.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe company website notes his “many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nNever miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nBoelter has also been the CEO of Red Lion Group \u2014 based in the Democratic Republic of Congo \u2014 since 2021, according to his apparent\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0profile.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHe was previously named by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the Governor\u2019s Workforce Development Board as the “Business & Industry Representative,” according to a news release on the state’s\u00a0website<\/a>. His four-year term spanned 2019 to 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBoelter was\u00a0initially appointed to the same board<\/a>\u00a0under former Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 to serve until 2018.<\/p>\nThe reported identification of the suspect comes shortly after police revealed during a news conference that they found a “manifesto” featuring a “list of names” inside a vehicle, following what Walz described as a “politically motivated assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBruley of the BPPD announced at the time that authorities discovered “the suspect’s car,” as a “large-scale search” was ongoing. The suspect was believed to have been driving a vehicle that “looked exactly like an SUV squad car” with emergency lights.\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0reported that the manifesto discovered inside contained almost 70 names including abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates, and lawmakers in multiple states.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Minnesota officials have identified a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses on Saturday, June 14<\/li>\n
- Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was identified as the suspect, officials announced in a press conference on Saturday afternoon<\/li>\n
- Police previously revealed that a suspect was “absolutely impersonating a police officer” ahead of the shootings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Authorities have identified a man they believe is connected to the\u00a0shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers<\/a>\u00a0this weekend.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nVance Luther Boelter, 57, was identified as the suspect by officials during a press conference on Saturday afternoon, June 14.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThey asked for the public’s assistance in helping locate the suspect, whom they said was last seen “wearing a light-colored cowboy hat with a dark-colored long-sleeve collared shirt or coat, light pants and carrying a dark bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>Officials announce that Vance Luther Boelter is a person of interest in the Minnesota lawmaker shooting.<\/span>Minnesota Department of Public Safety\/YouTube<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Officials also urged the public to call 911 should they encounter the suspect and not approach him, as he is considered “armed and dangerous.”<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe latest update arrives hours after state Rep. Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband, Mark, were killed in an attack on the morning of Saturday, June 14, officials shared in a press conference. Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette, both survived a separate shooting.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\n \n<\/div>\n<\/div>Melissa & Mark Hortman and John & Yvette Hoffman were targeted by the same suspect, authorities believe.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley announced on Saturday around 10 a.m. local time that a suspect, who was “absolutely impersonating a police officer” ahead of the shootings, fled the scene “on foot” and that a “manifesto<\/a>” was discovered in a vehicle.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBoelter is a father and husband who has previously worked full-time for Nestle, Del Monte, Tesoro, Marathon Speedway, and 7-Eleven, according to his bio on the Minnesota Africans United website.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nPer his description, the reported suspect is also the CEO of Praetorian Guard Security Services, which is based in Minnesota. He has been \u201cinvolved with security situations\u201d in multiple countries, according to the security company\u2019s\u00a0website<\/a>, which lists him as “director of security controls.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThe company website notes his “many on the ground experiences combined with training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nNever miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBoelter has also been the CEO of Red Lion Group \u2014 based in the Democratic Republic of Congo \u2014 since 2021, according to his apparent\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0profile.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nHe was previously named by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the Governor\u2019s Workforce Development Board as the “Business & Industry Representative,” according to a news release on the state’s\u00a0website<\/a>. His four-year term spanned 2019 to 2023.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBoelter was\u00a0initially appointed to the same board<\/a>\u00a0under former Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 to serve until 2018.<\/p>\n
The reported identification of the suspect comes shortly after police revealed during a news conference that they found a “manifesto” featuring a “list of names” inside a vehicle, following what Walz described as a “politically motivated assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBruley of the BPPD announced at the time that authorities discovered “the suspect’s car,” as a “large-scale search” was ongoing. The suspect was believed to have been driving a vehicle that “looked exactly like an SUV squad car” with emergency lights.\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0reported that the manifesto discovered inside contained almost 70 names including abortion providers, pro-abortion rights advocates, and lawmakers in multiple states.<\/p>\n
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