Minnesota State Senator, Wife Say They Were Shot A Combined 17 Times By Masked Assassin

Minnesota Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, released a statement on Thursday updating the public on their recovery and providing more details about the assassination attempt against them last week.

Yvette has been released from the hospital, while John remains in critical but stable condition, according to NBC’s Minneapolis affiliate, KARE 11. In their statement, the Hoffmans said they were shot a combined 17 times by a masked assassin who targeted multiple Democratic politicians last week, wounding the Hoffmans and killing state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark. The Hortmans are survived by their two adult children, Sophie and Colin.

The Hoffmans added that they, along with their adult daughter, Hope, were awakened by loud banging on their front door, with someone shouting and identifying himself as a police officer.

“When the door was opened, all three of us were in the entryway. John initially lunged at the gunman as the weapon was pointed directly at him, getting struck nine times,” the statement reads. “As John fell, Yvette reached out to push the man and shut the door, succeeding before she was also hit eight times by gunfire. Hope then rushed to shut the door and secured the lock; she got to the phone and shared with the 911 operator that Senator John Hoffman had been shot in his home. Her brave actions and quick thinking triggered the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway.”

After wounding the Hoffmans, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, the suspected assassin, drove to the houses of two other Democratic politicians who were not home, according to prosecutors. Authorities said that Boelter then arrived at the home of Rep. Hortman, where he shot and killed the 55-year-old Democrat and her husband before getting into a shootout with police and fleeing. Boelter was arrested just over 24 hours later in a wooded area near his family home, which is located an hour southwest of the Twin Cities.

Police said they found a potential “hit list” in Boelter’s vehicle that contained the names of numerous Minnesota Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Angie Craig, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. The suspect, who was reappointed by Walz to serve on the Workforce Development Board in 2019, was “very conservative,” according to a man he roomed with part-time at a house in north Minneapolis.

Video clips shared on social media show Boelter preaching in churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years. He graduated from Christ For The Nations Institute in 1990 with a degree in practical theology in leadership and pastoral, according to NBC News. In Minnesota, Boelter was most recently working for funeral homes and had decades of experience in the food industry.

“We are heartbroken to know that our friends Melissa and Mark Hortman were assassinated,” the Hoffmans added. “Our daughter Hope and Sophie Hortman went to school together, and we know that they – along with Colin Hortman – will have each other’s support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night.”

“Choosing to work in the public sector, even in as limited a way as John’s career as a senator, has always meant sacrificing a level of privacy. But now we are grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn’t like what you stand for,” the statement continued. “As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully. The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.”