by Met Middleson

June 14, 2025

Two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota were targeted in separate shootings early Saturday morning, leaving one dead and another hospitalized. Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their Brooklyn Park home around 3:35 a.m. Just over an hour earlier, Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot in their Champlin residence. Both survived and underwent emergency surgery. Authorities believe the incidents are connected and politically motivated.

The suspect reportedly impersonated law enforcement, wearing tactical gear and driving a vehicle outfitted with police-style sirens and lights. Officers discovered a list of additional lawmakers in the suspect’s possession, prompting widespread security alerts. During the response to the second scene, officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who fled and remains at large. A shelter-in-place order remains in effect across parts of Brooklyn Park, with federal and state law enforcement coordinating an intensive search effort.

Governor Tim Walz called the killings a “politically motivated assassination” and condemned the violence as an attack on democracy itself. Public officials across the spectrum have echoed his statement, including Senator Amy Klobuchar and former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. With the motive tied to political targeting and a hit list in play, the incident is already reshaping the conversation around domestic security and political extremism.