The suspected killer of the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband has been apprehended by US law enforcement officials after two-day manhunt.
Recall that the suspect identified as Vance Boelter, allegedly disguised himself as a police officer, then shot and killed Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home early Saturday.
Boelter, 57, was captured in Sibley County, a rural area about an hour southwest of the Minneapolis suburbs where the murders had occurred, police and state officials said.
“After (a) two-day manhunt, two sleepless nights, law enforcement have apprehended Vance Boelter,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told a late-night news conference.
Police described the search as the “largest manhunt in (the state’s) history”, with 20 SWAT teams and several agencies working to find him.
Jeremy Geiger, assistant chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, told reporters that Boelter had been “taken into custody without the use of force.”
Before the murders, Boelter also allegedly attacked two others nearby — state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, who survived and were treated for serious injuries, authorities said.
“The latest news is Senator Hoffman came out of his final surgery and is moving toward recovery,” Walz told reporters.
Hoffman was shot nine times and Yvette eight times, according to US Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Daily Intel/ AFP
