Suspected shooter of two Minnesota lawmakers, families wrote ‘manifesto’ naming more officials

The home invader who shot two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses early Saturday — killing a top Democrat and her husband — wrote a “manifesto” containing the names of other elected officials.

The list included “prominent pro-choice individuals in Minnesota, including many Democratic lawmakers,” sources familiar with the investigation say.

Police found the document identifying lawmakers and elected officials in an SUV decked out to look like a law enforcement squad after confronting the suspect in a shootout outside DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman’s home, said Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley on Saturday. Investigators have alerted those who appeared on the list and are providing security where necessary, he said.

Authorities have asked for the public’s help in finding 57-year-old Vance Boelter of Green Isle, Minn., who they identified as a suspect in the case. Boelter should be considered “armed and dangerous” and anyone who sees him should call 911 but not approach, said Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans.

Police have made no arrests in the shocking attacks at the homes of the two Minnesota lawmakers, igniting a manhunt and shelter-in-place order in Brooklyn Park, and a frenzy of panic and rumors as large-scale political protests against the Trump administration were planned for Saturday.

Evans wouldn’t go into specifics about the manifesto. He said the document “gives some indications” as to the shooter’s motivations, but it’s too early in the investigation to say with certainty how the shooter chose the targets.

Boelter’s roommate and longtime friend in Minneapolis, David Carlson, said the two hadn’t discussed abortion for years, but that he had strong feelings about it.

“He was a Christian. He thought it was murder,” Carlson said. “Through the ’90s he really hated abortion.”

The suspect was allegedly dressed as a police officer when he shot Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their Champlin home each “multiple times” early Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz announced in a solemn news conference.

As officers proactively went to check on Hortman, the 55-year-old top Democrat House leader who lived in a neighboring suburb, they encountered a suspect, who escaped after a gunfight with the officers, according to law enforcement officials.

Hoffman and his wife are out of surgery and in stable condition; Hortman and her husband are dead, Walz said.

“When our officers confronted him, he immediately fired at officers and retreated back into the home,” Bruley said of the encounter outside Hortman’s home.

Bruley described a convincing police disguise being worn by the suspect, including a Taser, badge and black body armor and driving a vehicle outfitted with emergency lights.

“No question that if they were in this room you would assume that they are a police officer,” said Bruley.

Boelter is the CEO of Praetorian Guard Security Services, a residential armed home security system. His wife, Jenny, was president of the company.

The company’s website notes it offers armed security with guards wearing personal protective equipment and driving “the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use.”

The shootings are under investigation from local, state and federal law enforcement. Police have detained and questioned some people, but made no arrests, Bruley said Saturday morning.

Bruley asked residents to stay inside and call dispatch if a person claiming to be a police officer shows up to their homes. Officers in Brooklyn Park and partnering investigators have been advised only to approach people in pairs, he said, “so if there’s only one officer outside the door, do not answer the door and call 911.”

Ryan Faircloth of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.