Two Democratic Minnesota lawmakers have been shot in what Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz referred to as acts of “targeted political violence,” at their respective homes early Saturday morning.
Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed by a person pretending to be a police officer. Hortman was the top Democratic leader in the Minnesota House, serving as Speaker since 2019.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said of the killing of Hortman and her husband. “Speaker Hortman 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.”
In a separate attack, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot multiple times, but are now “out of surgery and receiving care,” Walz told reporters during a press conference on Saturday, stating he was “cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt.”
“Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint,” Walz said. “This tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us that democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place.”
Walz went on to say that those responsible “will be held accountable.”
Police chief Mark Bruley said several people have been detained and questioned, but no one is currently in custody. He said there are “people of interest” that the authorities are looking for.
Read More: A Stark Look at the Recent History of Political Violence in America
The targeted attacks occur at a time in which politically-motivated violence has risen—including the 2024 assassination attempt of President Donald Trump and the 2020 planned kidnapping of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
This is a developing story and will be updated.