Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, were shot and killed early Saturday morning in “what appears to be a politically-motivated assassination,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said at a news conference Saturday.
Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also targeted by the same individual and each shot multiple times, Walz said. They have undergone surgery and are alive.
“The Hoffmans are out of surgery at this time and receiving care, and we are cautiously optimally optimistic, they will survive this assassination attempt,” the governor said.
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The suspect is at large and a massive manhunt is underway, officials said at the news conference.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation. Authorities are searching for a male wearing black body armor and a blue shirt who may have impersonated law enforcement, one law enforcement source told CNN.
“This is a stunning act of violence. I’m thankful for all the law enforcement who are responding in real time,” Klobuchar said in her post. “My prayers are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service.”
Walz activated the State Emergency Operations Center and is on the scene now, according to the governor’s spokesperson Teddy Tschann.
The governor will host a news briefing later this morning and a cross-jurisdictional Joint Information Center has been established, Tschann said.
“Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them. We are monitoring the situation closely and will share more information soon,” Walz said in a post on X.
The Brooklyn Park Police Department issued a shelter-in-place order in a 3-mile radius of Edinburgh Golf Course Saturday morning, according to the City of Brooklyn Park.
The governor said the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene.
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, now the head of national gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS, said in a statement on Saturday that she is ” horrified and heartbroken by last night’s attack on two patriotic public servants.”
“My family and I know the horror of a targeted shooting all too well. An attack against lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself. Leaders must speak out and condemn the fomenting violent extremism that threatens everything this country stands for,” Giffords, who was one of 13 people wounded in an Arizona supermarket parking lot in 2011, added.
This is a developing story and will be updated.