Key points
- A manhunt is underway for a gunman who shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota: Officials
- Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called “horrific violence”
ISLAMABAD: A manhunt is under way in Minnesota after two state lawmakers were targeted and one of them killed on Saturday morning in what Governor Tim Walz called an “act of targeted political violence”.
BBC reported that Melissa Hortman, 55, a Democrat, and her husband were killed in Brooklyn Park, a city near Minneapolis.
John Hoffman, 60, also a Democrat, and his wife were shot several times at their home about 15km (nine miles) away in a related attack. He is out of surgery and stable, according to BBC.
A search is on for the suspect who police claim was impersonating an officer.
“Horrific violence”
“We believe he’s working to potentially flee the (Minneapolis-St Paul) area,” Drew Evans, superintendent of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said, AFP reported.
The suspect had been spotted Saturday morning in the Minneapolis area on surveillance footage obtained from a business, the official said.
Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called “horrific violence” and said perpetrators would be prosecuted to “the fullest extent of the law.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the capture or conviction of Boelter.
“Political violence”
State Representative Melissa Hortman — the former speaker — and her husband Mark were killed at their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, AFP cited Governor Tim Walz as saying.
State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded at their home in nearby Champlin, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion, according to AFP.
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
The state official said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later.
