Key points
- Suspect gave himself up peacefully when challenged: Police
- State Governor Tim Walz has called it a “politically motivated assassination”
- Trump has condemned attacks in Minnesota on lawmakers and their spouses
ISLAMABAD: A 57-year-old man has been apprehended in the US state of Minnesota on suspicion of killing a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband, BBC News reported.
The arrest on Sunday night was the culmination of a huge two-day manhunt following the deaths of Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democrat, and her husband Mark, according to Western media reports.
State Governor Tim Walz has called it a “politically motivated assassination”.
BBC cited Police as saying Vance Luther Boelter was armed at the time of his arrest in a rural area west of Minneapolis, but gave himself up peacefully when challenged.
Jeremy Geiger, assistant chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, said that Boelter had been “taken into custody without the use of force,” according to AFP.
The suspect is also alleged to have shot and wounded Democratic State Senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette, who are both now awake in hospital, BBC reported.
“Incredibly lucky to be alive”
Hoffman said on Sunday that both felt “incredibly lucky to be alive”.
Boelter was detained after investigators found a car he allegedly used in Sibley County, about 50 miles (80km) from the murder scene in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump himself survived an assassination attempt last year, with a second attempt foiled by law enforcement.
Trump has condemned the attacks in Minnesota on the lawmakers and their spouses.
