“It seems to be a politically motivated murder.” It was like the governor of Minnesota, Democrat Tim Walz ,. Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife were also the target of the same individual and each was shot several times, said Walz. These last two underwent surgery and are alive. Witnesses identified the suspect as being disguised as a police officer.
“Hoffmans have already left surgery at this time and are receiving care, and we are cautiously optimistic that they will survive this attempted murder,” the governor told a news conference. “It was an act of directed political violence. Pacific debate is the basis of our democracy. We have not resolved our differences with violence.”
Both legislators are members of the Democratic Party, published the American network CNN. The suspect remains at large and a major search operation is underway, local authorities said. Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley said the shooter’s vehicle contained a manifesto and a list of targets with people names, including the two parliamentarians who were attacked.
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“This is a very large scale search,” said Bruley. “We have stopped several people and questioned them, but we have no one in custody right now.”
The suspect of killing the deputy sent a text message on Saturday morning to a colleague with whom he divides home, stating that he could “die soon.” THE ReutersDavid Carlson, 59, said he saw Vance Boelter, 57, last Friday night and said he called the police after viewing the message on his cell phone. Boelter, who was disguised as a police officer at the time of the crime, is still a fugitive.
Security forces were first called around 2 am Saturday morning (local time, 00h in Brasilia), with reports that someone had shot in Hoffman and his wife. Police went to their house and provided first aid before the couple was taken to the hospital, according to Drew Evans, superintendent of the Criminal Seizure Bureau of Minnesota (BCA).
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At about 3:35 am, another call was made when the police were making a preventive check at Hortman’s house. When the agents arrived, they noticed that there was a police vehicle at the garage entrance with the emergency lights linked and what seemed to be a policeman at the door, leaving the house, the authorities said. The suspect exchanged fire with agents before he could escape.
Brooklyn Park Police Department and security agencies such as Hennepin’s County Sheriff, the Minnesota State Patrol Patrol, the FBI and BCA, are now actively engaged in the suspect hunt, which they believe to be responsible for the two attacks.
Authorities are looking for a white man with brown hair wearing a vest with a taser, a badge and other equipment similar to those of a police officer. The suspect is on foot, local broadcaster KSTP said.
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“If someone knocks on your door saying they are a police officer, please do some things: first, call 911 and confirm if the agent is actually allowed to be there. If he is a real police officer, the dispatch center can confirm,” said Bruley. “In addition, we inform all our officers in Brooklyn Park that they should not approach anyone alone. They will only act in pairs.”
Walz activated the State Emergency Operations Center and a joint interjurisdictional information center was established while the hunt continues, according to the governor’s spokesman Teddy Tschann. United States President Donald Trump said that “such horrible violence will not be tolerated” in the country, adding that the Attorney General and the FBI are investigating the situation-and that those involved will be prosecuted with the maximum rigor of the law.
The mayor of Minnesota, Lisa Demuth, a Cold Spring Republican, classified the attack as “evil” and said she was “heartbroken.” In a statement, she asked Minnesota residents to “include in their prayers the victims of this horrible attack, as well as the law agents who still work to capture the author.”
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The attacks took place at a time when political leaders across the country have been the target of aggression, intimidation and threats in the midst of a deep political division
(With AFP and New York Times)
