A Democratic state politician was killed and another has been injured after “targeted shootings” in the US, officials said. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed.
John Hoffman and his wife are recovering after surgery, the official added. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the attacks at the lawmakers’ homes in two towns near Minneapolis “appears to be a politically motivated assassination”. The suspect is believed to have impersonated a police officer and escaped after engaging fire with officers, police said. The shootings took place in Champlin and Brooklyn Park, two neighbouring cities near Minneapolis.
“The Hoffmans are out of surgery at this time and receiving care, and we are cautiously optimally optimistic, they will survive this assassination attempt,” the governor said.
The suspect is at large and a massive manhunt is underway, officials said at the news conference.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation. Authorities are searching for a male wearing black body armor and a blue shirt who may have impersonated law enforcement, one law enforcement source told CNN.
“This is a stunning act of violence. I’m thankful for all the law enforcement who are responding in real time,” Klobuchar said in her post. “My prayers are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service.”
Walz activated the State Emergency Operations Center and is on the scene now, according to the governor’s spokesperson Teddy Tschann. A shelter-in-place order was issued by Brooklyn Park Police Department for a three-mile (4.8 km) radius of Edinburgh Golf Course.
“Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them. We are monitoring the situation closely and will share more information soon,” Walz said in a post on X.
The governor said the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene.
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, now the head of national gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS, said in a statement on Saturday that she is ” horrified and heartbroken by last night’s attack on two patriotic public servants.”
“My family and I know the horror of a targeted shooting all too well. An attack against lawmakers is an attack on American democracy itself. Leaders must speak out and condemn the fomenting violent extremism that threatens everything this country stands for,” Giffords, who was one of 13 people wounded in an Arizona supermarket parking lot in 2011, added.
By CNN
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