STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A man suspected of killing a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband and wounding another lawmaker and his wife faces federal and state murder charges. Police apprehended 57-year-old Vance Boelter late Sunday in rural Minnesota. Coming up, we'll hear a lawmaker who was told that she was on the target list, and we will also call a former Secret Service agent about ongoing risks. First, here's what prosecutors say.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
NPR's Meg Anderson is here. So, Meg, Minnesota's acting U.S. Attorney General has called what happened in Minnesota a political assassination. What is suspect Vance Boelter charged with?
MEG ANDERSON, BYLINE: Yeah. Boelter is facing six federal charges, including two counts of murder for the killings of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband. Those charges can carry the death penalty if he's convicted. He's also facing federal charges for shooting state senator John Hoffman and his wife. At the state level, officials charged Boelter with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder, but officials say they do plan to pursue first-degree murder charges.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, federal authorities released more details yesterday. What do they have to say?
ANDERSON: That's right. And the details officials describe about what happened are really chilling. Boelter allegedly went to the Hoffman residence first, where video of the exchange was recorded on a security camera. That video shows a man wearing a hyper-realistic silicone mask and dressed like a police officer. He knocks and yells that he's the police and to open the door. Here's acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson at a press conference yesterday describing what happened next.
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JOSEPH THOMPSON: Senator Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, came to the door. When they opened the door, Boelter shined the flashlight in their faces and said there had been a shooting reported in the house. Boelter asked if they had any weapons. When Boelter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they realized that he was not a police officer.
ANDERSON: The man officials allege is Boelter began shooting right after that, and Hoffman's daughter, Hope, is the one who called 911. After that shooting, Boelter allegedly went to the homes of two other state lawmakers but was not able to get to them. Then he allegedly went to Hortman's home, where officials say he killed her and her husband.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, officials there are saying that all of this was a targeted political attack. Why are they saying that?
ANDERSON: Yeah. So there was a notebook found inside the alleged shooter's car, which we've learned more about now. It contained a hit list with the names of at least 45 lawmakers and officials in Minnesota and several other states and at the federal level. It is now confirmed that they were mostly or all Democrats. Here's the FBI special agent in charge of the Minneapolis Field Office, Alvin Winston.
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ALVIN WINSTON: This was a targeted attack against individuals who answered the call to public service. Let me say this clearly; political violence has no place in this country.
ANDERSON: Police also recovered six guns from the scene. Most of those were found in the abandoned car. And they say that, you know, if the alleged suspect had not been forced to flee, they think he would have kept going on his rampage.
MARTÍNEZ: What's going to happen next?
ANDERSON: Yeah. So Boelter is now in federal custody. On June 27, he's going to have a preliminary hearing. That's the time that a judge will decide whether or not to set bail.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Meg Anderson. Meg, thanks.
ANDERSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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