The shooting death of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark is “horrific,” President Trump said in a statement shared with the New York Times Saturday. Along with the Hortmans, the state’s Sen. John A. Hoffman and his wife Yvette were also shot by a man dressed as a police officer, though they reportedly survived.
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America,” Trump added. “God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!”
Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz offered a tribute to the Hortmans on X Saturday morning. “Today Minnesota lost a great leader, and I lost a friend,” he began.
Melissa Hortman was a “formidable public servant and a fixture of the state Capitol,” he added. “She served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, and tirelessness.”
Walz added that his thoughts, as well as those of the population of the state, are “with her loved ones.”
Authorities told reporters at a news conference Saturday that officers responded to the home of the Hoffmans at 2 a.m. and found both injured. Officers decided to check on the Hortmans, where they encountered the suspect and exchanged gunfire around 3:35 a.m.
The Hoffmans were shot multiple times and underwent surgery. Doctors are “cautiously optimistic that they will improve,” authorities also said.
Chief Mark Bruley of the Brooklyn Park Police confirmed the suspect was wearing a vest, taser, and badge. “No question, if they were in this room, you would assume they were a police officer,” he explained.
Authorities added that there are “reasons to believe” the gunman plans to target one of several “No Kings” rallies planned today in opposition to Trump’s own $45 million military parade.
Indivisible Twin Cities told the Times their event is still continuing. “We think it’s important to gather peacefully. In the face of this horror, we will mourn and mark our determination for a peaceful, just, democratic future,” the group said in a statement.
