Minnesota authorities are searching for Vance Luther Boelter, 57, accused of a politically motivated shooting that killed two lawmakers and injured two others. A former appointee of Governor Tim Walz,

A Springdale pastor is one of a few people claiming they worked with Boelter in Fort Smith around 20 years ago.

In a political assassination, 57-year-old Vance Boelter shot two leading Minnesota Democrats and their spouses—one couple was killed—early Saturday morning. Boelter is a Christian fascist and Trump supporter.

Vance Boelter, the subject of a nationwide manhunt, described himself as an experienced security professional who worked in conflict zones. A friend said at least part of that account is "fantasy."

Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, appointed Boelter as a private-sector representative to the nonpartisan Governor’s Workforce Development Council in 2016. Gov. Tim Walz, also a DFLer, reappointed Boelter for another four years in 2019; Boelter lived in Inver Grove Heights at the time. His term expired in 2023.

In what Gov. Tim Walz has characterized as a “politically motivated assassination,” Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home while state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and are receiving care—and the alleged suspect, Vance Boelter, remains at large as a manhunt continues for a second day.

The gunman who killed a Democratic state lawmaker and injured another in Minnesota was apprehended late on Sunday night, a reporter for a ABC affiliate posted on X. (Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Tom Hogue) Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.