A lawmaker accused of shooting in Minnesota is accused of going to the homes of two other politicians
A federal prosecutor said Monday that the man was accused of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and injuring another man on the night of the shooting, sending him to the homes of two other lawmakers in an attempt to cause more massacres to those on his hit rate.
However, one other member of the lawmaker is on leave and the defendant left another House of Representatives after police arrived in the early hours of Saturday.
Thompson said Vance Boelter carefully planned the attack, performed surveillance missions, took notes on the houses and people he aimed at, and faked himself as a police officer the night of the attack.
“It's not an exaggeration to say that his crime is a nightmare,” he said.
They surrendered to police on Sunday after they began a nearly two-day mass hunt near Minneapolis after they found him in the woods near his home. He was charged with serving as an officer and fatally shooting former Democratic Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at home in a northern suburb of Minneapolis earlier Saturday.
Authorities say he also shot and killed Democrat John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who lived a few kilometers away.
Federal prosecutors announced Monday that they have charged Boelter, 57, with a federal murder case, committing crimes. He has faced state charges, including murder and attempted murder.
Thompson said Bault had many notebooks with lots of plans and worked hard to find the addresses of the victims and their families. But authorities have not found anything that could “clearly identify what motivates him.” Although the target is Democrats and elected officials, Thompson said it is too early to speculate on any political ideology that could explain his motives.
Authorities declined to disclose two elected officials, who allegedly got involved but escaped injury. But they said it was obvious that the shooting was politically motivated.
“This is a targeted attack on individuals who answer public service calls,” said Alvin Winston, a special agent at the FBI's Minneapolis Field Office. The resultant search is the largest search for suspects in the history of the country, he said.
According to the FBI affidavit, Boelter's wife agreed to search her phone via law enforcement, which quoted a text affidavit from a text message to a family group chat: “Dad went to the war last night…I don't want to say more because I don't want to hint anyone.”
His wife received another text: “The words won't explain how sorry I'm for this situation… There will be some people coming to the house to arm the house and triggering something very happy, and I don't want you around,” the affidavit said.
The suspect was arrested in a Minnesota forest near his home
At one time, Boelter bought an e-bike and Buick sedan from someone he met at a bus stop in northern Minneapolis. Police found the sedan abandoned on the highway on Sunday morning.
In the car, law enforcement found that the shackles of the cowboy hat were seen in surveillance videos and a letter to the FBI were written. The letter said was written by “Dr. Vance Luther Bault” and said he was “a Minnesota shooter involved in two shootings.”
The car was found in Sibuley County, a rural Butt lives, and a police officer reported that he believed he saw Booter running into the woods. Police convened 20 different tactical teams to search the area.
During the search, police said they confirmed someone was searching the woods for hours, then using helicopters and hiking police officers until they found Boelter. Authorities said he gave it to the police and crawled out to the police before being handcuffed and detained in a field.
Prison records show that Boelter was booked at Hennepin County Prison earlier Monday.
