The gunman who shot and killed Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home also killed their family’s beloved rescue dog, according to a fellow lawmaker.
The former Democratic House Speaker, 55, and her husband Mark, 58, were allegedly gunned down early Saturday morning by suspected political assassin Vance Luther Boelter, who also wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife before he was finally captured Sunday following an intense 43-hour manhunt Sunday.
Boelter also allegedly shot the family’s beloved golden retriever, Gilbert, at the Brooklyn Park home.
Erin Koegel, a member of the Minnesota House since 2017, said one of the first things Hortman’s children had to do after the shooting was “put down [Gilbert] after learning their parents had been murdered,” she posted on X.
Hortman spent years doing volunteer work training service dogs for veterans and was a foster home trainer for a local dog shelter called Helping Paws, where she was introduced to Gilbert.
Helping Paws posted a message on its Facebook page, along with a 2022 photo of a Hortman smiling with her arm around Gilbert.
“Melissa served her community in more ways than one. She was a Helping Paws Foster Home Trainer, a neighbor, and a friend. The Hortman family raised and trained Minnie, who is now a working service dog partnered with a Veteran,” the animal rescue said.
“They also helped raise and train Gilbert, a service dog in training who was eventually career changed and became a cherished member of their family.”
Boelter, a 57-year-old former appointee of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was arrested in a field in rural Minnesota without incident early Sunday morning, ending the “largest manhunt in the state’s history,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley told reporters.
A motive for the shootings is not yet known, though it’s believed to be politically charged.
Boelter served on a 60-member state workforce development board with Hoffman, according to records.
The accused murderer allegedly listed roughly 70 names of Minnesota lawmakers and abortion advocates in a “manifesto” discovered by investigators inside the faux cop cruiser.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar revealed in an interview with NPR that there were multiple lists of names discovered — and she appeared herself.
She believes the shooting was fueled by online rhetoric “that has inflamed an already difficult time in our country.”
“My hope is in Melissa’s memory and her incredible work that people are going to reassess how they act in politics and how they treat each other,” she said.
Klobuchar said there were more than 9,000 threats made against members of Congress last year — a massive jump from 1,700 threats made against lawmakers in 2016.
Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who on Monday were still recovering from their gunshot wounds after ongoing surgery, offered their “profound gratitude for the work of our law enforcement agencies and the public for their help in bringing the suspect to justice,” in a statement provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
