Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter allegedly visited the residences of four different state representatives with the intent to kill them last Saturday, according to prosecutors.
Boelter, 57, was apprehended late Sunday night, accused of murdering Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as the attempted murder of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson revealed six additional federal charges against Boelter, including murder, stalking, and shooting offenses. He also disclosed that Boelter had targeted two other lawmakers’ homes with murderous intentions in the early hours of June 14.
He was dressed as a police officer and arrived in a black SUV with the emergency lights turned on, displaying a police license plate, according to Thompson.
After shooting Hoffman and his wife in Champlin, Minnesota, Trump-supporter Boelter approached a Maple Grove legislator’s home and rang her doorbell.
The unnamed representative was on vacation, so he fled.
The assassin then made his way to the home of a New Hope state senator – but police had already been dispatched to the scene, and spotted Boelter’s phony police SUV parked down the block.
Believing that Boelter was a genuine cop, a New Hope police officer approached Boelter’s car window and spoke to him – but the alleged killer ‘stared straight ahead.’
Minnesota shooting suspect Vance Boelter (pictured) went to the homes of four different state representatives on Saturday with the intent to kill, prosecutors said
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson (center) announced on Monday that Boelter went to the homes of two other lawmakers to carry out more carnage
Boelter, 57, was arrested late Sunday night for the murders of Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband (pictured)
The police officer then approached the New Hope representative’s home to conduct a welfare check, and that’s when Boelter bolted and escaped, Thompson said.
It was at this point that Boelter went to his final, fatal stop of the night – Rep. Melissa Hortman’s home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
He killed Hortman and her husband, before police finally caught up with him and shot at him – causing him to flee on foot and escape for a second time.
Boelter was on the run for nearly 48 hours before he was apprehended by police.
Authorities declined to name the two other elected officials whom Boelter stalked.
Though the targets were Democrats and elected officials, Thompson said it was too soon to speculate on any sort of political ideology that could explain his motives.
Boelter was charged with a total of six federal counts – two for stalking, two for murder, and two for shooting and firearms offenses.
He already faces state charges, including murder and attempted murder.
Thompson said it was too early to say if the Justice Department would seek the death penalty but noted that that was among the options available to the government based on the charges.
‘Boelter planned his attack carefully’ by researching his intended victims and their families and conducting surveillance of their homes and taking notes, Thompson said.
He had been on the run for nearly two full days when he was caught – after he was seen passing a trail camera in a rural town in Sibley County, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
‘Most of the search had concluded then,’ Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said. ‘But the trail cam picture alerted SWAT teams to go to the area, search a perimeter and with the help of drones, identify his location.’
After Boelter left the Hoffman home, he went to the home of another representative in New Hope where he evaded police
Chilling photos showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head
He said Boelter tried to evade arrest for about an hour after, but eight SWAT teams crawled in ditches to corral him and ‘he eventually surrendered peaceably.’
The Sibley County Sheriff’s Office also told Fox News Boelter ‘verbally’ identified himself to authorities, and Lt. Jeremy Geiger, of the Minnesota State Patrol, said authorities did not have to use any force to detain Boelter.
The suspect was then pictured being handcuffed, as Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Bob Fletcher wrote that he is ‘the face of evil.’
Inside his vehicle, which was located earlier in the day on Sunday, officers found three AK-47 assault rifles, a 9mm handgun and an apparent hit list containing the names and addresses of Democratic lawmakers, people with ties to Planned Parenthood and abortion clinics. It even includes one high-profile philanthropist.
It is believed Boelter was motivated to kill the two Democrats due to their support for abortion rights after police uncovered the hit list inside of 45 people from his car on Saturday morning.
A second hit list with more than a dozen new names was also found during a search of one of Boelter’s homes on Saturday.
Boelter’s ambush of terror started at around 2am on Saturday morning, when he entered Hoffman’s home and shot him and his wife Yvette in Champlin.
They survived the attack with multiple wounds.
Hortman and her husband Mark were then fatally shot at their home eight miles away in Brooklyn Park about 3am.
Boelter had been on the run for nearly two full days when he was caught
Officers then encountered the gunman fleeing Hortman’s home at 3.35am and exchanged gunfire with him, which is when they reportedly found the initial hit list.
Chilling photos showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head.
Boelter also shot the Hortman’s golden retriever named Gilbert and injured the dog so badly he had to be euthanized.
He was put down by the couple’s children after they learned ‘Gilbert wasn’t going to survive’, state Rep. Erin Koegel revealed.
