THE family of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman has revealed how his wife Yvette used her body as a shield when a gunman opened fire in their home.
Hoffman and Yvette sustained severe injuries in an attempted assassination attack at their Champlin residence at approximately 2 am on Saturday.
Within two hours of this incident, a suspect believed to be 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter fatally shot DFL speaker Melissa Hortman and her spouse Mark in their Brooklyn Park home.
Hoffman, 60, and his wife underwent surgery at the Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and are stable.
The pair were shot 11 times by the crazed gunman who posed as a police officer, their nephew Mat Ollig shared in an update on Facebook.
He revealed how Yvette heroically threw herself in front of their daughter Hope to shield her from the bullets.
Hope, who is in her 20s, was not injured in the horror attack.
Senator Hoffman was shot six times and Yvette five, Ollig said.
“My aunt threw herself on her daughter, using her body as a shield to save her life,” he wrote.
“They are both out of surgery and stable. These two are the kindest, most giving and caring people I know.”
He called the horror attack “a political act of terrorism” carried out by a “vile piece of s*** dressed as a cop”.
“I am beyond sick,” Ollig wrote as he shared pictures of the family.
One of the bullets that struck Hoffman narrowly missed his heart, local outlet KARE11 reported.
Images from the scene show the Hoffmans’ front door riddled with bullet holes.
Boelter was named as a suspect for the shootings on Saturday afternoon sparking a major manhunt.
As the manhunt enters its second day, police are narrowing in on the 57-year-old suspect, who reportedly was wearing a disturbing latex mask during the attacks.
They have located a vehicle of interest and the cowboy hat they believe Boelter was wearing when he was last seen in the Twin Cities area.
These were found on Highway 25 roughly half way between Green Isle, where Boelter has a property, and Belle Plaine, KARE 11 reported.
State patrol confirmed they found a black vehicle on the side of the road that is of interest in the hunt for the suspect.
They also found a cowboy hat matching the one Boelter was seen wearing in the last CCTV footage of him lying in the open on the side of the road.
About 100 yards away from the road, is a property that KARE 11 says has a major police presence around it as part of the manhunt.
It has not been confirmed if Boelter is still in the area.
The FBI has issued a $50,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest and a conviction.
Hours after the double shooting, at around 6 am, Boelter’s roommate and best friend David Carlson received a string of chilling text messages from him in which Boelter said “I may be dead shortly”.
“I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while,” he said to his friends David and Ron.
“May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way.”
Officials have said that they believe Boelter may have been trying to flee.
His wife Jenny was detained after a traffic stop during which cops found she was carrying weapons, cash, and passports, KTSP reported, citing law enforcement officials.
She was not arrested and officers have warned that as the search continues, Boelter should be considered armed and dangerous.
Officials have urged the public to send in tips and call 911 if they see him.
