Minnesota State Rep, Husband Assassinated, State Senator, Wife, also Shot

A Minnesota state representative and her husband were shot and killed in a brutal attack at their home on Saturday morning. A state senator and his wife were also attacked and shot multiple times in their homes about an hour before the attack on the representative.

Democrat State Representative Melissa Hortman is dead after a person allegedly wearing a police uniform shot her and her husband. The man, believed to be a police impersonator, fired on police officers who arrived at the home to conduct a safety check, CNN reported. The gunman ran back into the house and fled the scene. Police say the vehicle was a black SUV made up to look like a real police vehicle.

The attack on Hortman followed a similar attack on Democrat State Senator John Hoffman about an hour and a half earlier. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) called the attacks a “politically motivated assassination.”

Walz said:

We’re here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota. My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination. Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends. Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service. She was a formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.

The governor reported that the senator and his wife survived the attack and are out of surgery.

“The Hoffmans are out of surgery at this time and receiving care, and we are cautiously optimistic that they will survive this assassination attempt,” the Minnesota governor stated. “This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported that police have recovered an alleged manifesto and said, “There was a list of individuals and the individuals that were targeted were on that list.”

Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Police Chief Mark Bruley said, “When we did a search of the vehicle there was a manifesto that identified many lawmakers and other officials, we immediately made alerts to the state, who took action on alerting them and providing security where necessary.”

“This was not a real police officer; this was a person who was clearly impersonating a police officer wearing the trust of this badge to manipulate their way into the home,” the chief added.

Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.