 "Minnesota’s largest manhunt ends: How Vance Boelter, the man who shot lawmakers, was arrested")
A huge two-day search came to a close on Sunday (local time) with the arrest of the man accused of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their partners.
Vance Luther Boelter is accused of killing Melissa Hortman, a senior Democratic assemblywoman, and her husband Mark at their home on Saturday. He also allegedly shot and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
ALSO READ | Who are Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman?
Boelter was found and arrested near his home in Green Isle, located in Sibley County.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley described the operation to track him down as “the largest manhunt in the state’s history.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had earlier described Hortman’s killing as “a politically motivated assassination.”
So, how was Vance Boelter finally tracked down? And who is he?
Here is a look at the answers.
How Vance Luther Boelter was arrested
The intense two-day manhunt that left the state on edge ended when police found Boelter hiding in a wooded area near his home.
He was arrested and now faces two murder charges and two counts of attempted murder. He is accused of pretending to be a police officer and fatally shooting Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in a northern suburb of Minneapolis.
Officials say he also shot and injured Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, at their home around nine miles (roughly 15 kilometres) away.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe search began after officers from Brooklyn Park went to check on Hortman’s home and saw her husband had been shot. The gunman escaped before they could intervene.
On Sunday, authorities found a car Boelter had been using, left behind in rural Sibley County, where he lives. Inside Boelter’s SUV, officers found three AK-47 rifles, a 9-mm handgun and a list of public officials with their home addresses, according to the criminal complaint.
A police officer then spotted someone, believed to be Boelter, running into nearby woods, according to Chief Mark Bruley.
Police quickly sealed off the area and brought in 20 tactical teams to comb through it section by section.
As the search continued, police received further tips confirming someone was hiding in the woods. Officers spent hours searching on foot and with a helicopter until they found him.
Boelter surrendered to police. Authorities said he crawled out from the woods and was arrested in a field.
“The suspect crawled to law enforcement teams and was placed under arrest,” Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol said at a press briefing. “The suspect was taken into custody without any use of force.”
Justice will be served. pic.twitter.com/idImOQmuNj
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) June 16, 2025
Chief Bruley said the operation, which involved hundreds of detectives and support from federal, state and local agencies, was the biggest manhunt in Minnesota’s history.
“Now begins the hard work of looking at what the motive is,” Bruley said.
Who is Vance Boelter?
Boelter has worked across various fields, including security, international business and workforce development.
According to Minnesota Africans United (MAU), he holds a doctorate in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service from Cardinal Stritch University. He has been associated with companies such as Nestle, Del Monte and Marathon Speedway.
In 2019, he was appointed to a four-year term on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board by Tim Walz. He had earlier served on the same board in 2016, during Mark Dayton’s term as governor.
CNN reported that Boelter had registered as a Republican in the early 2000s.
As per Reuters, he also had links to evangelical ministries and had claimed experience in security roles in the Gaza Strip and some African countries, based on online posts and public records.
What we know about the shootings in Minnesota
The attack began at the Hoffmans’ home in Champlin early on Saturday. A criminal complaint, made public after Boelter’s arrest, said the couple’s adult daughter called 911 shortly after 2 am, reporting that a masked man had come to their door and shot her parents.
Police in Brooklyn Park, having learned that a lawmaker had been shot, sent officers to the Hortmans’ home to check on them.
According to the complaint, officers arrived just as Boelter fired at Mark Hortman through the open doorway. The police returned fire, and Boelter fled inside the house before escaping. Melissa Hortman was later found dead inside the home.
These shootings come at a time when political figures across the United States have been targeted, threatened and attacked, as political divisions deepen. The violence has shocked many in the Twin Cities and beyond.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said, “A moment in this country where we watch violence erupt, this cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences. Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country, and each and every one of us can do it.”
With inputs from agencies
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