Minnesota shooting timeline: Suspect Vance Boelter's last words to family before capture
A Minnesota man is in custody after allegedly shooting two state lawmakers and their spouses, killing two Saturday morning.
Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was captured in Sibley County after a two-day manhunt and now faces state and federal murder charges, among other crimes.
He is accused of killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, early Saturday morning at their Brooklyn Park home in Minneapolis. He also allegedly shot state Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their nearby Champlin home in a related attack.
The Sibley County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Boelter "verbally" identified himself to authorities searching for him in the area on Sunday evening.
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"The face of evil," the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post Sunday, along with a photo of Boelter's capture. "After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody. Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer."
In the days since the shootings, officials have released more information in court records, establishing a clearer timeline of events:
2 a.m.
Authorities responded to a 911 call around 2:06 a.m. Saturday from the Hoffmans' daughter reporting that her parents — John and Yvette — had been shot in their home in Champlin.
Both victims were transported to a nearby hospital and are expected to recover.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., shared a message from Hoffman's wife on Sunday, saying John was shot nine times and Yvette was struck eight times.
"John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods," Yvette wrote in a message to Klobuchar. "He took [nine] bullet hits. I took [eight] and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive. We are gutted and devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark. There is never a place for this kind of political hate."
HEAR THE DISPATCH CALL:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said "the heroic actions by the Hoffman family and their daughter Hope saved countless lives" during a news conference Sunday.
"The latest news is Sen. Hoffman came out of his final surgery and is moving toward that, toward recovery," Walz said at Sunday night's news conference.
2:24 a.m.
After the shooting at the Hoffmans' home, Boelter traveled to the home of another Minnesota state representative in the Maple Grove neighborhood, according to court documents and acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson, who spoke during a news conference Monday announcing federal charges against Boelter.
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Around 2:24 a.m. Saturday, he knocked on the unnamed state lawmaker's door, but no one answered. The lawmaker and his wife were on vacation. Thompson described security footage as "haunting" because the suspect still had on the silicon mask and police uniform worn at the Hoffmans' shooting.
2:36 a.m.
Just minutes after knocking on the Maple Grove family's door, Boelter allegedly traveled to another state senator's home in New Hope, Minnesota. Boelter parked on the street in his black SUV. New Hope police dispatched an officer to the state senator's home to conduct a wellness check. Upon arrival, an officer located Boelter's SUV parked on the block with its lights on, according to the U.S. attorney.
"The New Hope police officer pulled up next to Boelter … rolled down her window and attempted to speak with him. Boelter did not respond," Thompson said. "The New Hope police officer proceeded to the state senator's home, and she waited for law enforcement to arrive. … By the time they did, Boelter had left the scene."
SUSPECTED MINNESOTA LAWMAKER ASSASSIN VANCE BOELTER CAPTURED
3:35 a.m.
Boelter then traveled to the Hortmans' home in Brooklyn Park, where he allegedly shot Melissa and Mark while wearing the same police uniform and mask.
Officials had been "proactively" dispatched to the Hortmans' home in the Brooklyn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis after hearing what had happened at the Hoffmans' home.
Upon arrival at around 3:35 a.m., officers witnessed the suspect shoot one of the victims through the open front door. Officers discovered both victims dead from gunshot wounds inside the house, according to a probable cause statement.
Police exchanged gunfire with Boelter before he fled the area, court documents state.
"Question is, how important was it that the police officer stopped at Rep. Hortman's house, which really foiled this entire plan?" Thompson asked during Monday's press conference. "It's incredibly important. That started with a sergeant who was actually off duty – was walking out of the building and had heard that there was a shooting in another community at Sen. Hoffman's house, [and] being alert, said to officers and the police department, 'Hey, drive by Melissa Hortman's house and just check on the house, would you?' And that's essentially why they pulled up and found [him] in the drive."
Thomspon added "the criminal act was occurring" when officers arrived at the Hortmans' home.
"Had they not foiled the plan … essentially took his vehicle away from him, which involved all his maps, all his names, all his weaponry – I would be very scared what it would look like over the next few hours had [they] not done that," the U.S. attorney said.
5:30 a.m.
The Brooklyn Park Police Department issued a shelter-in-place order for residents in the area, FOX 9 Minneapolis first reported.
6:18 a.m.
Boelter texted his family members at 6:18 a.m. Saturday after the shootings, according to court documents.
"Dad went to war last night… I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody," the alleged text says.
Around the same time, Boelter allegedly sent a message to his wife stating, "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."
7 a.m.
Boelter meets a witness, identified only as Witness 1 in court documents, at a bus stop in north Minneapolis.
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Witness 1 told police Boelter, whom he did not know, was carrying two duffel bags and asked to purchase an electric bike from the witness. The witness agreed, and they boarded the bus to the witness' home. Once there, Boelter allegedly asked to purchase the witness' Buick sedan, and the witness agreed, according to the probable cause statement.
Boelter then drove the sedan to a bank in Robinsdale and withdrew $2,000. Cameras captured him wearing a cowboy hat at the time. The suspect allegedly paid the witness $900 for the e-bike and sedan.
9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Officials host a news conference announcing the Hortmans were pronounced dead after officials were dispatched to their home that morning.
Gov. Tim Walz urged the public not to attend political rallies scheduled for that Saturday in Minneapolis.
Sometime Saturday morning, Boelter's wife, Jennifer Boelter, "consented to a search of her car," the probable cause statement states.
"From the car, law enforcement recovered two handguns, approximately $10,000 in cash, and passports for Mrs. Boelter and her children, who were in the car with Mrs. Boelter at the time," the document states.
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The Associated Press first identified Vance Luther Boelter as a suspect in the related Saturday morning shootings. Local records show Gov. Walz and former Gov. Mark Dayton appointed the suspect to the nonpartisan workforce development board in 2019 and 2016, respectively. His term on the board expired in 2023.
Officials served a search warrant at a Minneapolis home where Boelter was renting a room with two other roommates. He stayed there some nights to be closer to work, while his family lived in a different home in Green Isle, the Star Tribune reported. Authorities set up a staging area near Boelter's Green Isle home Saturday afternoon.
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, authorities officially named Boelter as a suspect in the shootings.
4 p.m.
The FBI announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to Boelter's arrest.
2:30 a.m.
Authorities received information about an individual riding an e-bike about two miles northeast of Boelter's home in Green Isle.
7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The search for Boelter continued into Sunday morning, with Sibley County authorities issuing a be-on-the-lookout alert for Boelter to residents just before 11 a.m.
Officials located the suspect's vehicle and cowboy hat off Highway 25 in Faxon Township Sunday morning, leading numerous law enforcement agencies and about 20 SWAT teams to respond to the area to search for Boelter in the rural suburban farming community.
Read the complaint:
Authorities uncovered a disturbing arsenal in Boelter’s possession, documents said. Inside his vehicle, registered to him, police found three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9mm handgun and a list of names and addresses of other public officials.
5:30 p.m.
Minneosta authorities held a news conference early Sunday evening, calling the search for Boelter "fluid."
9:10 p.m.
Law enforcement located Boelter "in a field" about a mile from his Green Isle home just after 9 p.m. Sunday.
The Sibley County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Boelter "verbally" identified himself to authorities searching for him in the area on Sunday evening.
Sibley County resident Kevin Effertz, who owns the property where Boelter was arrested, told Fox News Digital Monday that a friend who stopped by his home Sunday saw something suspicious.
"She saw this guy out in the field that was by himself, dressed in black, just with his back toward her," Effertz said. "When she started coming down the driveway, he ducked down, which made her kind of suspicious."
WATCH SIBLEY COUNTY RESIDENT'S INTERVIEW:
The friend then "waved down" a police officer nearby, who told her to go to a safe area.
"Within 20 minutes, she called me back and said they already had him," Effertz said.
10:30 p.m.
Officials held a news conference announcing the suspect's arrest.
Speaking at a news conference alongside other law enforcement officers after Boelter's arrest, Brooklyn Park Police Department Chief Mark Bruley said there were more than 20 different SWAT teams involved in the search. He described it as "the largest manhunt in the state's history."
The manhunt included officers from multiple agencies on foot as well as the use of a helicopter.
The Hennepin County District Court issued a criminal complaint charging Boelter with four felony counts of second-degree murder with intent (not premeditated).
June 16
11 a.m.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced that it would be pursuing first-degree murder charges against Boelter.
His bail was set at $5 million.
12 p.m.
U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson announced new federal charges against the suspect, including two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of gun-related crimes related to the Saturday shootings.