Suspected Minnesota Lawmaker Assassin Captured | Crime Alert 6AM 06.16.25
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Crime alert. I'm Nancy Grace breaking crime news now. Joining us Nicole Parton standing by with the latest. Nancy Vance Boatler, the individual suspected of shooting two Minnesota legislators and their spouses in a series of politically charged attacks early Saturday morning is now in police custody.

According to a press release, on Sunday evening, Boatler, 57, was apprehended close to his residence in Green Isle, located in Sibley County. Just before 10 p.m., the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office shared an image on social media that seems to depict Boatler being arrested.

Authorities reportedly discovered a vehicle and a hat belonging to the suspect in the shooting of the state lawmakers, State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.

On Sunday, tactical units were deployed to a remote area of Minnesota after officers located what they believed to be a black Buick tied to Vance Boatler, 57, who is accused of killing that Democratic state legislator and attempting to murder another.

As investigators broadened their search for Boatler throughout the state, they identified the car in Sibley County along with that hat he had left behind. Approximately an hour's drive from the scene of Saturday's violence, law enforcement clad in tactical gear raced down a rural highway while emergency alerts on cell phones urged local residents to secure their homes and vehicles.

By Sunday afternoon, a checkpoint was established near the suspect's residence in Green Isle, Minnesota, with police vehicles gathered in the vicinity and the FBI present. A state patrol helicopter circled overhead as heavily armed officers conducted door-to-door searches, combing through barns, silos and wooded areas.

Police say they received a tip that Boatler was in the area. That's when SWAT teams soon located him. Officials had requested the assistance from the public, offering a reward of $50,000 for any information leading to his capture.

On Saturday morning, Boatler's wife was apprehended by police about 70 miles from the location of the shooting. According to Sheriff Kyle Burton, she and other family members had cooperated with investigators and were not in custody as of Sunday evening, stated Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Investigators revealed that during the attack, the suspect impersonated a police officer wearing a ballistic vest, gloves and a mask to conceal his identity while shooting Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

Police nearly captured Boatler at the time, but he fled on foot after a brief exchange of gunfire with officers. In a separate vehicle associated with the suspect that was abandoned at the shooting site, authorities discovered a notebook containing a list of lawmakers and various notes as detailed by Mr. Evans during a press briefing.

In terms of what's been referred to manifesto, I want to clarify for everybody, and just for this, this is not a document, because I think it's important for the public to understand, that would be like a traditional manifesto that's a treatise on all kinds of ideology and writings. This is a notebook with a lot of that's been reported of lawmakers and others that are listed in here, and then...

much more other thoughts that are throughout this as opposed to a very succinct document that's providing long and it's mixed in with other documents. So that's where this is coming from. More on this breaking story after this.

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Former House Speaker Melissa Hartman and her husband Mark tragically lost their lives in their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette sustained serious injuries at their home in Champlin, located about nine miles away. Both were shot at least eight times and have undergone multiple surgeries.

Authorities say 59-year-old Vance Boulder, the prime suspect, wore a mask and impersonated a police officer, even modifying a vehicle to resemble a police car. Law enforcement conducted searches of the vehicle on a secluded road as the state grappled with the shocking nature of this politically motivated crime. The search was concentrated in a rural Sibley County area about 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis,

where Bolter lived with his wife and five children. Residents received an emergency alert regarding the vehicle and advising them to secure and lock their homes and cars. Authorities also recovered a list of around 70 names from writings found in that fake police vehicle at the crime scene. This list included notable state and federal lawmakers, community leaders, abortion rights advocates, and details regarding health care facilities.

Several AK-style firearms were confiscated from the suspect's vehicle. Bolter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, although it remains unclear how well they knew each other. At around 6 a.m. on Saturday, Bolter sent texts to friends,

expressing regrets for his actions without specifically saying what he had done. He said, I'm going to be gone for a while. Here's one of those friends speaking to CBS News. He just said he felt he made some choices. You know, he was planning some things that we didn't have known, that we didn't know about. That's what he said. And then that he might be dead soon.

We've gone for a long time. Police responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffsman's home just after 2 a.m. Saturday, discovering the couple with multiple gunshot wounds. Local police from Brooklyn Park, who were on the scene, decided to check on Hortman's nearby home, as stated by Police Chief Mark Bruley.

Upon arriving, officers encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer exiting the house. When confronted, he fired at the officers who returned fire. The suspect then retreated into the home and escaped on foot, leaving behind the vehicle designed to mimic a police car, where authorities later found those writings.

Stay with Crime Alert hourly update as we continue to follow this developing story. Thanks, Nicole. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and help solve unsolved homicides. With this Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace.

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