A gloomy Governor Tim Walz talked about the work and legacy of state representative Melissa Hortman, who, according to the authorities, was killed at home on Saturday morning.
Police said the suspect attacked her, another democratic state legislator and her spouses.
“Our state lost a beloved leader and lost the most beloved friends,” Walz told journalists at a press conference.
Hortman, the former speaker of the Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota, and her husband Mark were shot dead at his home in Brooklyn Park around 3:35 am by a suspect who passed through a police officer, the investigators said.
The representative of the State of Minnesota, Melissa Hortman and the senator of the state of Minnesota, John Hoffman, are shown in these photos of files without date.
Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota | Minnesota Senate
The shooting took place almost 90 minutes after the same suspicious shot and wounded state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in his Champlin house, according to the police.
The suspect, identified as Vance Boelter, 57, fled on foot after participating in a shooting with officers outside Hortman’s house, authorities said. The suspect also had a list of other objectives, they said.
Bob Jacobson, the State Public Security Commissioner, said on Saturday was a “dark day.”
“We will not allow fear or violence to define who we are or how we move forward,” he said.
Walz described Hortman as someone who served the State with “great compassion, grace, humor and a sense of service.”
“It was a formidable public servant. An accessory and giant in Minnesota. He woke up every day determined to make this state a better place,” he told reporters.
The governor further condemned the attack in a statement.
“We are not a country that resolves our differences to gunpoint. We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to disagree peacefully, that our state is strengthened by the civil public debate,” he wrote. “We must be united against all forms of violence, and ask everyone to join me in that commitment.”
The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, speaks at a press conference on the shooting of two state legislators, on June 14, 2025.
Minnesota Public Security Department
The governor ordered that the state flags were flown half mast in honor of Hortman.
Other state leaders and beyond offered similar condolences throughout the morning.
President Donald Trump also issued a statement on Saturday morning condemning violence.
“Such horrible violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place,” he said.
The White House said in a statement that the FBI and the Office of the Attorney General will investigate and “process anyone involved to the largest extent of the law.”
Former President Joe Biden spoke against the attack in an X position.
“This atrocious policy attack should never happen in the United States,” he said. “We must give hate and extremism without a safe port and we must all unite against political violence as a nation.”
The National Democratic Committee Ken Martin, former president of the Minnesota Democratic Party and friend of both victims, said in a statement that “like so many minnesotanos, my heart is broken.”
“Melissa, Mark, John E Yvette: these are not just names, and this is not just politics. These are people. They are very time friends for me and Jenn and many others in Minnesota. They have children, loved ones, neighbors and friends,” Martin wrote.
The representative Nancy Pelosi speaks during a proposal of republicans of the House of Representatives that opposes the final vote of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC
JEMAL CONDESA/GETTY IMAGES FOR MAYOR FAMILIES OF BALLIMILLONARIES, ARCHIVE
The former president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, whose house in California was invaded by a man who assaulted her husband with a hammer in 2022, said she was “disconsolate” by the situation.
“Unfortunately, we know the tragedy of when political violence comes very well home. We must all remember that it is not only the act of violence, but also the reaction to it, which can normalize it. This climate of politically motivated violence must end,” he said in a statement.
Former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a shot in the head in an attempted murder of 2011 and a mass shooting in Tucson, Posted a photo of yourself with hortman In X and said it was “devastated” when listening to the shooting.
“Melissa was a true public servant who dedicated his life by building a better and safer Minnesota. This is a deep loss for everyone who loved Melissa and Mark, and for our nation,” he wrote. “There will be more to say, but this is clear: we must protect our democracy from those who try to destroy it with a gun.”
The president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, issued a statement denouncing the attack.
“Such a horrible political violence does not take place in our society, and each leader must condemn it unequivocally,” he said.
The entire Minnesota delegation of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, issued a joint statement on Saturday afternoon by convictions.
“Today we talk with one voice to express our indignation, pain and condemnation of this horrible attack against public servants. There is no place in our democracy for politically motivated violence,” said the delegation.
“We are praying for the recovery of John and Yvette and afflict the loss of Melissa and Mark with his family, colleagues and minnesotanos throughout the state,” they added.
Senator Amy Klobuchar talks to journalists after a weekly democratic policy lunch in the United States Capitol building, on June 3, 2025 in Washington, DC
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Senator of Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, said in a previous statement that she was “devastated” by the shooting, pointing to his friendship with Hortman.
“She was a true public servant, dedicating her life to serving minnesotanos with integrity and compassion,” Klobuchar wrote. “As a speaker of the Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota, he directed the efforts to protect women’s rights, invest in clean energy and ensure free school lunch for children. He was loved by his colleagues.”
The Senator of Minnesota, Tina Smith, also responded to the shooting in an X position, denouncing political violence and said Hortman was “intelligent and fun and very dedicated to making Minnesota work better for all of us.”
In an X publication, the representative of Minnesota, Ilhan Omar, remembered Hortman as “a dear friend who showed me how to lead with passion and integrity.”
“Whatever our differences, nobody deserves this,” he wrote. “Violence does not take place in our communities.”
Richard Carlbom, president of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, said in a statement that Hortman “represented the best of Minnesota.”
Walz, Smith and Omar were among dozens of Minnesota Democrats in a list of objectives written by the alleged armed man, sources of application of the law said on Saturday.
Brittany Shepherd of ABC News, Averi Harper, Lauren Peller, Isabella Murray, Emily Chang and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
