𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A pet dog belonging to a Minnesota state representative and her husband who were shot dead at their home on Saturday, has been put down after being wounded in the attack.

Melissa Hortman, 55, and her husband Mark, 58, were shot multiple times at their Brooklyn Park home in the early hours of Saturday, by a man posing as a police officer.

It has emerged that the family’s dog, Gilbert, was “humanely euthanized” after suffering severe wounds in the attack. He was four and a half years old.

Michelle Del Rey reports.

With Vance Boelter in custody, officials are working to understand what drove the 57-year-old to shoot Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and their families, as officials allege.

Boelter’s past suggests a conservative political bent, but no outright signs of violent ideology or plans, according to the limited public information available at this early stage.

“He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,” Paul Schroeder, a friend of Boelter’s, told The Associated Press.

The outlet also reviewed sermons Boelter gave while volunteering as an evangelical pastor during a stint in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a security pastor.

“The churches are so messed up, they don’t know abortion is wrong in many churches,” he said in one such sermon.

Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota continues to hammer Senator Mike Lee of Utah for his posts on X over the weekend speculating about and making light of the recent shooting of Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota.

“I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him what I thought and how it made me and so many Minnesotans feel that he had done this,” Smith said of a confrontation between the pair that took place in the Capitol on Monday.

Smith, in an interview with streamer Brian Tyler Cohen, said she had to “chase after him a bit” to begin the conversation, and accused Lee of pretending to be on the phone to avoid the head-to-head.

“I don’t think this is a man who is frequently confronted by anybody, and I will tell you he seemed a little shocked to have anybody challenging him, let alone one of his colleagues,” Smith added.

The man suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and wounding another and his wife is in custody following a nearly two-day manhunt that followed a shocking streak of political violence.

Vance Boelter, 57, is accused of fatally shooting Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as shooting Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their respective homes on Saturday in what has been described as a “politically motivated” attack.

Boelter was armed when he was captured in rural Green Isle, Minnesota late Sunday night. He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.

“The face of evil,” Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a social media caption alongside a photograph of the suspect surrounded by heavily armed law enforcement officers.

Ariana Baio and Alex Woodward had the story.

Sophie and Colin Hortman, the children of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were killed in Saturday’s shootings, have shared a statement.

Here’s what they wrote in the message, which was obtained byThe Minnesota Star Tribune:

“We are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark. They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone. Their love for us was boundless. We miss them so much.

“We want everyone to know that we are both safe and with loved ones. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received, and we appreciate your respect for our family’s privacy as we grieve.

“Our family would like to thank law enforcement for their swift action that saved others and for the coordination across communities that led to the arrest of the man who murdered our parents. We especially would like to thank the officers who were first on the scene to our parents’ home and their heroic attempts to rescue our mom and dad.

“Our parents touched so many lives, and they leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us, their friends, their colleagues and co-workers, and every single person who knew and loved them.”

If you would like to honor the memory of Mark and Melissa, please consider the following:

• Plant a tree.
• Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail.
• Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do.
• Tell your loved ones a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it.
• Bake something — bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone.
• Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something.
• Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.

“Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear. Our parents lived their lives with immense dedication to their fellow humans. This tragedy must become a moment for us to come together. Hold your loved ones a little closer. Love your neighbors. Treat each other with kindness and respect. The best way to honor our parents’ memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.”

Residents of the town of Green Isle are sharing their recollections of suspected Minnesota gunman Vance Boelter, including the tense moments before he was captured near the rural area.

Wendy Thomas told CBS Minnesota she was stopping into a friend’s house to pick up an address book and speaking with her father on the phone on Sunday evening when she spotted the then-fugitive.

“I was coming down the driveway [and] I said, ‘Dad, there is somebody in the front yard,'” said Thomas.

Boelter ducked down by a culvert once he was spotted, she said. Thomas then fled and flagged down a local deputy, helping alert police to his location.

Within two hours Boelter was captured, after police said he tried to evade arrest as officers closed in.

Kevin Effertz knew Boelter, who had a property near Green Isle, and said the alleged gunman appeared to be a regular, non-political person before the shootings, which targeted prominent state Democrats.

“He never had any political views that we talked about. It was always about the weather, what’s going on. How’s your family,” Effertz told CBS Minnesota.

“A guy, you shake your hand with him and everything else, and he does this, which is really strange.”

Lisa Demuth, the Republican Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, is calling on her colleagues of both parties to “set the tone” and follow the example of her predecessor, the well-regarded Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was killed in Saturday’s shootings.

“We got along really well, and it’s because she started building that working relationship over the years,” Demuth told The Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday. “Without that happening, it would have made this year a lot harder.”

“This person is completely a monster,” Demuth added of alleged gunman Vance Boelter. “No rational agreement or disagreement on any type of policy should ever lead to something like this.”

Three days after shootings targeted state lawmakers, President Trump still hasn’t reached out to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the Democrat said Monday.

Walz, who served as the vice presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket against Trump in 2024, said he wasn’t surprised.

“I think I understand where that’s at,” Walz told MPR. “I did speak to Vice President Vance, grateful for that call.”

“I’m always open to you know, people expressing gratitude,” he added.

“Vice President Vance assured us, and he delivered, that the FBI would be there as partners with us to get it done. That was what needed to be done.”

Here’s Madeline Sherratt with more on Trump’s silence.