-Within an hour and a half early on Saturday in Minnesota, a Democratic state representative and her husband had been shot dead and another Democratic lawmaker and his wife were gravely wounded by a man who arrived at their homes disguised as a police officer.
Vance Boelter, 57, faces state and federal murder charges in the fatal shooting of Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, in their home in New Hope, Minnesota, on Saturday. Boelter is also charged with shooting and wounding another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife Yvette, in their home in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
The following timeline of movements of the accused early on Saturday is based on a federal affidavit.
2:06 a.m. The Hoffmans’ daughter calls 911 to report her parents had been shot. Video footage from their home in New Hope earlier showed a man wearing a black tactical vest and mask that covered his entire head at their door with a flashlight, knocking and shouting “This is the police. Open the door.”
2:24 a.m. Video footage from surveillance cameras at the Maple Grove home of an unnamed public official shows a man ringing the doorbell and repeatedly shouting “This is the police. Open the door. This is the police. We have a warrant.” No one was home.
2:36 a.m. A police officer conducting a safety check at the home of another public official in New Hope sees a man, now alleged to have been the suspect, sitting in a black SUV down the street. The police officer believed the man was another officer. The man sat staring straight ahead and did not respond when the officer tried to speak with him.
3:30 a.m. Police officers who had by now learned of the shooting of the Hoffmans arrive at the Hortmans’ home for a safety check and see a man at the front door. The man fires gunshots as he entered the home and then escapes, leaving a black SUV behind.
6:18 a.m. Boelter sends a group text to his wife and other family members that includes the message: “Dad went to war last night.”
(Reporting by Donna BrysonEditing by Rod Nickel)
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