Minnesota assassination survivor and husband shot 17 times
Minnesota assassination survivor and husband shot 17 times
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Mike Wendling
BBC News
Reporting fromMinneapolis
A survivor of Saturday’s deadly attacks on two Minnesota lawmakers says she and her husband are both “incredibly lucky to be alive” after they were hit by 17 bullets.
State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were gunned down at their home early on Saturday morning, but lived. Melissa Hortman – the top Democratic legislator in the state House – and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed.
Yvette Hoffman said in a statement that she and her husband John were “devastated” by the Hortmans’ deaths.
Police are hunting for the suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, who wore a latex mask and posed as an officer to shoot the victims at their homes in suburban Minneapolis, before escaping on foot.
Mrs Hoffman’s statement was shared on Instagram by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.
“John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods,” Mrs Hoffman wrote.
“He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.
“We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. We have no words. There is never a place for this kind of political hate.”
Police have not disclosed the killer’s motive.
A Facebook post from someone identifying as Mrs Hoffman’s nephew said she had thrown herself on her daughter during the assassination attempt, “using her body as a shield to save her life”.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the daughter, Hope, is in her 20s and was born with spina bifida, which her father previously cited as motivating him to get into state politics.
On Sunday, police said they had found an unoccupied car linked to the suspect in Sibley County, about 50 miles (80km) from the murder scene.
The discovery of the black sedan was alerted to local residents’ mobile phones in a message that said: “Suspect not located. Keep your doors locked and vehicles secured.”
A cowboy hat, similar to what Boelter, 57, was believed to have been wearing, was found nearby.
Police also said on Sunday that Boelter’s wife had been detained in a traffic stop along with three relatives in a car in the city of Onamia, more than 100 miles from the family home in the rural community of Green Isle, on Saturday morning.
Jenny Boelter was released without being taken into custody because she was co-operative, Drew Evans, of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told a news conference on Sunday evening.
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