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A Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed overnight in what Gov. Tim Walz said was a “politically motivated assassination.”
Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hoffman and her spouse were shot in Brooklyn Park by a suspect impersonating a police officer.
In a related shooting, DFL Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in Champlin, sources told FOX 9. They are expected to survive and are out of surgery.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with responding police but fled the scene. He was wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants and potentially impersonating law enforcement, according to an alert.
Emerita Melissa Hoffman and Sen. John Hoffman were shot overnight. Their spouses were also shot. (Fox 9)
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“Our state lost a great leader,” Walz said at a press briefing Saturday morning. “Speaker Hartman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service.”
She was a formidable public servant, a fixture, and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable, and we’ve been missed by so many Minnesotans.
Walz said that he was “cautiously optimistic” about John Hoffman and his wife surviving. Both were shot multiple times.
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said. “Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle their differences with violence or at gunpoint in the state of Minnesota.”
Authorities have urged the public not to approach the suspect and to call 911 with any information.
A shelter-in-place order has been issued within a 3-mile radius of Edinburgh Golf Course.
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, it was a “politically motivated assassination.” (Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Walz said this morning that had activated the State Emergency Operations Center.
“The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene,” Walz wrote on X.
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“Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the State of Minnesota behind them,” he wrote on a follow-up post. “We are monitoring the situation closely and will share more information soon.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
