MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man accused of killing a Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another went to the homes of two other legislators on the night of the shootings, intending to inflict more carnage against those on his hitlist, a federal prosecutor said Monday.
But one of the other state lawmakers was on vacation and the suspect left the other house after police arrived early Saturday, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said at a press conference.
The suspect, Vance Boelter, meticulously planned the attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the homes and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer just before the shootings, Thompson said.
“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares,” he said.
Boelter surrendered to police Sunday after they found him in the woods near his home following a massive manhunt that stretched over two days. He is accused of fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.
Authorities say he also shot Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, who lived just a few miles away.
Federal prosecutors announced Monday that they charged Boelter, 57, with federal murder and stalking offenses. He already faces state charges, including murder and attempted murder. Hours later at a federal court hearing in St. Paul, Boelter said he could not afford an attorney and a federal public defender was appointed to represent him. He was held without bail pending an upcoming court appearance next week.
Boelter had many notebooks full of plans that appeared to be months in the making, Thompson said. Underscoring what law enforcement officials said was the premeditated nature of the attacks, Boelter wrote out in one notebook a list of internet-based people search engines, according to court records.
But authorities have not found any writings that would “clearly identify what motivated him,” Thompson said. Though the targets were Democrats and elected officials, Thompson said it was too soon to speculate on any sort of political ideology.
His writings included the names of 45 state and federal elected officials in Minnesota, Thompson said.
Authorities declined to name the two other elected officials who escaped harm. But Democratic Sen. Ann Rest said she was told the suspect had parked near her home in New Hope early Saturday. She said in a statement Monday that the “quick action” of law enforcement officers saved her life.
Boelter sent a text to a family group chat after the shootings that said : “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to an FBI affidavit.
His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation … there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the affidavit said.
Police later found his wife in a car with her children. Officers found two handguns, about $10,000 in cash and passports for the wife and her children, according to the affidavit.
Suspect caught in Minnesota woods near his home
At one point, Boelter bought an electronic bike and a Buick sedan from someone he met at a bus stop in Minneapolis, the federal affidavit said. Police found the sedan abandoned on a highway Sunday morning.
In the car, law enforcement found a cowboy hat Boelter had been seen wearing in surveillance footage as well as a letter written to the FBI, authorities said. The letter said it was written by “Dr. Vance Luther Boulter” and said he was “the shooter at large in Minnesota involved in the 2 shootings.”
