A suspect in the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses early Saturday has now been identified, Minnesota police confirmed.
Police are searching for Vance Luther Boelter, a 57-year-old man who was last seen wearing a “light-colored cowboy hat, dark-colored, long-sleeved, collared shirt or jacket, light pants” and carrying a dark bag, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
The city of Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis where the shootings occurred, lifted an earlier shelter-in-place order, indicating “there is reason to believe he is no longer in the area.”
According to Minnesota officials, Boelter works for a security company called Praetorian Guard Security Services, where he served as director of security patrols and has had U.S. military training.
The manhunt began Saturday morning after two Minnesota Democratic state lawmakers and their spouses were shot by a gunman impersonating a police officer.
Former Minnesota House Speaker Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in the shootings, while Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife are now out of surgery after being wounded.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) earlier called Hortman’s killing a “politically motivated assassination” and characterized Hoffman’s shooting as an assassination attempt.
A manifesto listing off names of lawmakers and other officials was found in the suspect’s car, along with “No Kings” flyers apparently in reference to a series of anti-Trump protests being held across the country Saturday.
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to Boelter’s arrest.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In an update on the manhunt Saturday night, the FBI said they are using “every available resource” to find Boelter.
“This was a deliberate and violent attack on public servants and their families,” FBI Minneapolis special agent in charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. said. “We are working with our law enforcement partners and using every available resource to locate and apprehend Vance Boelter.”
