Who are John Hoffman and Melissa Hortman? The two Minnesota lawmakers targeted and shot at their homes on Saturday

On Saturday, June 14, two Minnesota lawmakers, Senator John Hoffman and state Representative Melisa Hortman, were shot in two separate incidents while at their homes. Rep. Hortman and her husband were killed in the attack at their home, while Sen. Hoffman and his wife are out of surgery and expected to recover.

The homes of the lawmakers are about 8 miles away from each other, with Rep. Hortman’s household residing in Brooklyn Park and Sen. Hoffman living with his family in Champlin.

Rep. Hortman, who has been a member of the Minnesota House since 2005, served as Speaker of the House from 2019 until mid-January of this year. She currently serves as the DFL Caucus Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives. DFL, of the Democrat, Farmer, Labor Party, is a political party in Minnesota aligned with the national Democratic Party.

Sen. Hoffman has served in the Minnesota Senate since 2013, representing the state’s 34th district. In that chamber, he also served in leadership as Minority Whip from 2017 to 2020 and currently chairs the Human Services Committee.

What we know so far

Law enforcement is just getting started on its investigation, but during a press conference this morning, officials confirmed that the lawmakers were targeted.

Also confirmed was that the suspect was impersonating a police officer to gain entry to the homes of these leaders. At the moment, the theory is that one suspect carried out both attacks. Emergency services received reports around 2:00 am that Sen. Hoffman had been attacked at his home, prompting authorities to visit the home of Rep. Hortman, due to her elevated public profile. At around 3:35 am, police arrived at the Hortman home and exchanged gunfire with the suspect. Life-saving medical support was administered at the scene, but the suspect was able to escape.

*This story is developing and will be updated frequently.

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