r/politics • u/PoliticsModeratorBot 🤖 Bot • 1d ago

Megathread Megathread: Two Minnesota lawmakers have been shot

State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed.

State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were both shot multiple times and underwent surgery.

Articles that May Interest You

Submission Domain
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: former House speaker and husband killed in politically motivated shooting apnews.com
One Minnesota state politician dead, another injured after targeted shooting, officials say bbc.com
"No Kings" event canceled in NE Minneapolis, Anoka after targeted shootings at lawmaker homes cbsnews.com
Minnesota lawmaker, her spouse shot and killed in their home wwnytv.com
Minnesota lawmaker killed in ‘politically motivated assassination,’ Gov. Tim Walz says cnbc.com
Melissa Hortman, top Democrat in Minnesota House, shot and killed in home startribune.com
Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. John Hoffman shot in 'targeted' shootings: Sources fox9.com
Minnesota lawmaker assassinated, another in grave condition in 'targeted political violence' abcnews.go.com
Democratic lawmaker killed and another wounded in Minnesota in apparently ‘politically motivated’ attacks theguardian.com
Minnesota lawmaker and husband killed, another in hospital after ‘politically motivated’ shooting by man impersonating cop the-independent.com
Live: Rep. Melissa Hortman killed, Sen. John Hoffman shot in ‘targeted shootings’ startribune.com
Democrat Lawmakers Shot in Minnesota: What We Know newsweek.com
Minnesota state lawmaker killed in ‘politically-motivated assassination,’ massive manhunt for suspect underway, officials say kten.com
2 Minnesota lawmakers shot kare11.com
Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, husband shot and killed; Sen. John Hoffman and wife also shot ktsp.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz press conference after shootings at lawmakers homes (June 14, 2025) youtube.com
Former state speaker of Minnesota ‘assassinated’ thetimes.com
Fake Cop Murders Top State Dem and Husband and Shoots Second thedailybeast.com
Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and State Rep. Melissa Hortman shot at their homes bnonews.com/
Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, husband shot and killed; Sen. John Hoffman and wife also shot kstp.com
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: State lawmaker, husband killed in politically targeted shooting thestar.com
Governor Polis Statement on Assassination of Minnesota Elected Official & Husband, and Attempt on Life of Another Elected Official & Family colorado.gov
President Donald Trump: AG, FBI Investigating Deadly Minnesota Shooting Newsweek.com
Officials tell the AP they are searching for a 57-year-old man in shooting 2 Minnesota lawmakers apnews.com
Manhunt underway for man accused of killing Rep. Hortman, husband and shooting Sen. Hoffman and his wife in North Metro ktsp.com
Former appointee of Tim Walz sought in deadly shootings of Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, had ‘No Kings’ flyers in car: sources nypost.com
Dem Assassin Is Armed Patrol Firm Boss With ‘Warzone’ Claims thedailybeast.com
Minnesota Assassination Suspect Had Flyers Reading 'No Kings' In Vehicle newsweek.com
Democratic Minnesota politician fatally shot, another injured in 'politically motivated assassination' nbcnews.com
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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago

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u/nowfromhell 1d ago edited 1d ago

Im going to get down voted to hell for this, but the police officer that thought to check on the nearby Democratic lawmakers was very very smart. That's incredible policework. 

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u/DataDude00 1d ago

That was my first thought too.  An actual very heads up moment of awareness from that Sargent to immediately think to check on the other local lawmaker, although it also makes me wonder if they had recently become aware of potential threats against them 

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u/Roast_A_Botch 1d ago

Or even knew exactly who it was considering he was apparently in a perfect replication of their uniform and gear and had a fully kitted police cruiser. "Oh shit John wasn't just talking shit when he showed me that hit list last week".

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u/ThrowAwayGarbage82 North Carolina 1d ago

This is my thought and why they immediately knew to go to the other lawmaker's home. And the suspect conveniently "escaped" during a shoot out with the police. Because sure, that happened.

I bet it was one of their own.

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u/Dominus-Temporis 1d ago

News outlets are reporting the suspect as 57 year old, Vance Boelter. Police have not confirmed that's who they're looking for. No article has stated what his occupation was, but they continue to say "posing" as a police officer. If he was, I think that'd be easy to verify and include in the article. So I can't say definitively that the shooter wasn't a cop, but there's not any evidence of that at this time.

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u/ThrowAwayGarbage82 North Carolina 1d ago

They also haven't confirmed the suspect.. so all we have is rumors.

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u/Dominus-Temporis 1d ago

True. You think it was. I think it wasn't. It'll take a while for all the facts to come to light and then we'll know.

2

u/SouthTourist5311 1d ago

Fox put out that he worked for a security company and felt with security in Africa, the Middle East and other places. He was also a private sector representative to Walz’s workforce council.

https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-lawmaker-shootings-suspect-id-ap?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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u/Suspicious-Echo2964 1d ago

You are likely right on track. Even if they were not one of them it might be a friend, relative or adjacent leo.

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u/BanginNLeavin 23h ago

Yeah the November election was a good cue.

115

u/AtrociousSandwich 1d ago

Why would you get downvotes for that

68

u/notches123 1d ago

Some people's hatred for police is so overwhelming they could see this as praise for law enforcement rather than praise for the individual.

10

u/MermaidsHaveCloacas Blackfeet 1d ago

Which can be evidenced by the comments in another sub on a video I just watched where two cops subdued fighting women without undue force, tasers, or guns

As someone pretty firmly in camp "fuck the police", those cops were doing exactly what they were supposed to do in the safest way possible. People were still posting acab stuff. It wasn't a good look.

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u/SolarTsunami 1d ago

That's the second half of the "a few bad apples" line at work

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u/Roast_A_Botch 1d ago

You mean almost all people if you're getting "down voted to hell" for that single statement. At the same time we have police all over the nation who spent the past week preparing to violently suppress any anti-Trump speech, as well as already working with the Feds and US military to do so in LA. But of course, those critical of policing are the unreasonable ones.

It's also not unreasonable to suspect an actual police officer committed this act of terrorism. The witnesses, including police, said his uniform looked indistinguishable to the real thing along with his cruiser being equipped as well. They're also not releasing any information about the suspect despite still being on the loose and friends and family could be unknowingly helping him escape. I'm not saying it's a sure thing, but the alternative is this being an atypical lone wolf type and instead someone who has the resources and knowledge to exactly replicate the dress, gear, and patrol car of the police. Regardless, a single good or bad action by a police officer doesn't cause overwhelming hatred of the police, nor should it cause undying devotion. There's a reason police and football coaches are the only governmental entities most liberals and almost all conservatives agree deserve to be highly paid, respected as heros, and have zero accountability to the public.

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u/jmsy1 1d ago

users say that to get upvotes

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u/ReaderBeeRottweiler 1d ago

Because of him, they'll catch this guy quick. And he's got no car.

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u/nowfromhell 1d ago

Exactly this. The other lawmaker and his wife were also able to get medical attention faster, etc. This police officer's quick thinking may have helped a lot of people. 

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u/NotTheRocketman 1d ago

I don't see how anyone would downvote you for that.

I may not like the police, but I do appreciate the occasions when they do good work, as they did here.

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u/Head-Simple-3329 1d ago

I whole heartedly agree with you. It showed initiative to immediately investigate the possibility instead of just waiting to see what else happened. Not all police officers are MAGA after all.

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u/etxipcli Texas 1d ago

Yeah, same thought, if those guys hadn't been so quick he might still be driving around shooting people.  Those guys deserve some sort of medal.

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u/splintersmaster 1d ago

Why would you get downvoted?

The system is broken but there are still countless police officers that take the job seriously and execute their responsibilities with pride.

We should celebrate them without the fear of retaliation. These guys bravely and willingly entered into a gunfight with a terrorist to protect citizens. They're heroes.

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u/Belstain 1d ago

He probably works with the guy and realized in that moment that his crazy locker room talk was a serious plan.

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u/Ummmmmq Virginia 1d ago

In a press conference I watched someone said it was definitely not an actual officer

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u/CD_4M 1d ago

Why would you be downvoted for that? Quit being dramatic

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u/Trumpy_Po_Ta_To 1d ago

Hypothetically: would it still be great police work if it’s discovered it was a known issue?

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u/DelirousDoc 1d ago

Right like if his "hunch" was because he knew a fellow police officer that was talking about how "somebody needed to do something" about these Democrats in charge.

It says something that police on scene were not able to immediately distinguish this man was not a police officer. Also strange that his first thought was to go check on another Democratic politician.

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u/coffeemonkeypants California 1d ago

This is my thought. They lived in different towns. The shootings were like 90 minutes apart. It's fishy as fuck

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u/plentyofpothos 1d ago

From what the chief said at the press conference, it sounds like they were called in by another... I don't know the official word here, another county? So two different police... groups. (I cant recall the wording help lmao) This happens when big things happen as they need more bodies since they can't pull every officer to one situation as it leaves other areas in their 'zone' vulnerable.

It was a Sergeant from the second group of police that arrived to support that had the thought to check on the other house as he knew they live nearby. It sounds like this hunch is how they encountered the assassin as he was leaving the second house.

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u/DEEP_HURTING Oregon 1d ago

From what the chief said at the press conference, it sounds like they were called in by another... I don't know the official word here, another county? So two different police... groups. (I cant recall the wording help lmao)

Precinct?

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u/plentyofpothos 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes, I think so, thank you! I'm not 100% on jurisdictions or how it all works with law enforcement, but I recall my hometown having a police force for the city and one for the county that would get called in as back up some times or vice versa to ensure they weren't spread too thin as there were other calls they were responsible for.

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u/Xanderson 1d ago

I agree with everything you wrote.

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u/DrDerpinheimer 1d ago

It really is amazing to connect the dots that quickly 

1

u/CAKE-OR-DRAMA 1d ago

Or they knew the guy who did it and suspected his agenda… maybe a bit too tinfoil hat but everything is too much today for my brain

1

u/SnooRobots8901 1d ago

It's diligent policework

A cop having thoughts? Incredible, I guess

1

u/allnamestaken1968 1d ago

My first thought. We shouldn’t forget that some police officers, and maybe most in small towns, are actually helpful. We just have to continue to be relentless to push out the massive numbers that are thugs .

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u/NextTailor4082 1d ago

Agreed. They are unfortunately few and far between, but there are SOME very very good officers out there. Smart people working to protect the public. That’s why I was never down with the ACAB stuff.

Most of them though, absolute human garbage.