Suspect in shooting of two Minnesota state politicians planned to attack two others, prosecutors say

The man accused of killing a Minnesota politician and wounding another went to the homes of two other legislators on the night of the shootings, intending to inflict more carnage against those on his hit list, a federal prosecutor said on Monday.

But one of the other politicians was on holiday and the suspect left the other house after police arrived early on Saturday, acting US Attorney Joseph Thompson said at a press conference.

The suspect, Vance Boelter, meticulously planned the attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the homes and people he intended to attack and disguising himself as a police officer on the night of the attacks, Mr Thompson said. “It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” he said.

Mr Boelter surrendered to police on Sunday when they found him in the woods near his home following a massive manhunt over nearly two days that began near Minneapolis. He is accused of posing as an officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early on Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.

Authorities say he also shot state senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, who lived a few kilometres away. Federal prosecutors announced on Monday that they have charged Mr Boelter, 57, with federal murder and stalking offences. He already faces state charges, including murder and attempted murder.

Mr Boelter had many notebooks full of plans and made efforts to find the addresses of his victims and their family members, Mr Thompson said. But authorities have not found any writings that would “clearly identify what motivated him”, he said.

Though the targets were Democrats and elected officials, Mr Thompson said it was too soon to speculate on a political ideology that could explain his motive. Authorities declined to name the two other elected officials whom Mr Boelter allegedly stalked but who escaped harm. But it was clear the shootings were politically motivated.

“This was a targeted attack against individuals who answered the call to public service,” said Alvin Winston, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. The resulting search, he said, was the largest manhunt in the history of the state.

Mr Boelter’s wife consented to a search of her phone by law enforcement, according to an FBI affidavit that quoted from a text to a family group chat: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody.”

His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the affidavit said.