Minnesota assassination suspect appears stone-faced as he is finally arrested after huge manhunt following horror shootings of Democrat lawmakers and their spouses
The gunman accused of shooting two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota has been taken into custody.
Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested late Sunday night for the murders of Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the attempted murder of Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
He is facing both state and federal charges, with authorities earlier announcing on Sunday that there is both a 'nationwide warrant' for Boelter's arrest for the murders and attempted murder at the state level as well as a federal warrant for 'unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.'
State and federal officials were seen scouring a rural town on Sunday and were wrapping up for the day when a brave resident reported that their trail camera caught an image that 'was consistent with Boelter,' according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
'Most of the search had concluded then,' Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said. 'But the trail cam picture alerted SWAT teams to go to the area, search a perimeter and with the help of drones, identify his location.'
He said Boelter tried to evade arrest for about an hour after, but eight SWAT teems crawled in ditches to corral him and 'he eventually surrendered peaceably.'
The Sibley County Sheriff's Office also told Fox News Boelter 'verbally' identified himself to authorities, and Lt. Jeremy Geiger, of the Minnesota State Patrol, said authorities did not have to use any force to detain Boelter.
The suspect was then pictured being handcuffed, as the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office wrote that he is 'the face of evil.'
Minnesota police have taken fugitive assassin Vance Boelter, 57, into custody
Minnesota State Patrol, SWAT teams, and a US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrived in a dozen or more vehicles including heavily armored trucks about 11am on Sunday
The military-style convey traveled in armored vehicles with rooftop snipers, but as of 7pm, the fugitive was still at-large
Manhunt over as MN shooting suspect Vance Boelter arrested Loaded: 0%Progress: 0%0:00PreviousPlaySkipMute Current Time0:00/Duration Time0:49Full SizeNeed Text TRENDING
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'After relentless and determined police work, the killer is now in custody,' the police department wrote on Facebook. 'Thanks to the dedication of multiple agencies working together along with support from the community, justice is one step closer.'
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth also said she was 'grateful that this nightmare has come to an end with the suspected murderer captured alive so he can be charged, prosecuted, and punished for the horror he has wrought on our state.'
'Thank you to the brave men and women of local, state, and federal law enforcement who have worked around the clock to ensure this evil man faces justice.'
Just moments Boelter was captured, Sibley County officials issued a shelter in place warning, saying the suspected assassin was 'spotted on foot... in military gear and armed.'
Authorities had earlier located Boelter's car, a Buick that appeared to be dumped in Faxon Township, and found a cowboy hot lying on the ground that was identical to one Boelter was wearing in CCTV images released by the FBI.
By around 4pm, a four-door dark blue Buick Regal sedan was seen being removed from the search area on a flatbed truck.
Meanwhile, state troopers equipped with rifles and full body armor went house to house searching yards, outbuildings and garages in a rural part of the county.
Minnesota State Patrol, SWAT Teams and a US Marshals Fugitive Task Force were seen arriving in a dozen or more armored vehicles complete with rooftop snipers at around 11am Sunday.
Hundreds of other police set up a command post in Green Isle, near Boelter and his wife Jenny's home, to coordinate the manhunt.
It is believed Boelter, a Trump supporter, was motivated to kill the two Democrats due to their support for abortion rights after police uncovered a hit list of about 70 people from his car Saturday morning.
Most of the names on that list were Democrats or people with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, CNN reports.
A second hit list with more than a dozen new names was also found during a search of one of Boelter's homes on Saturday as police continued their manhunt for the suspect.
Among those on the lists were lawmakers in other states, including in Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska, authorities announced on Sunday.
Boelter is accused of fatally shooting Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark (pictured)
He also allegedly wounded his Democratic State Senator John Hoffman
Here's what you need to know about the political assassinations in Minnesota:
- Boelter was taken into custody on June 15 after being spotted on a trail camera
- He is wanted for the murders of Democratic State Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in Champlin. The suspect also shot and wounded Democratic State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette in nearby Brooklyn Park
- Cops first responded to a call about the shooting at Hoffman's home about 2am on Saturday. They then went to check Hortman's home where they spotted the suspect
- The suspect, dressed in police gear and wearing a mask, exchanged gunfire with cops before retreating inside the house and then fleeing out the back on foot
- Boelter's wife Jenny was pulled over by police with suspicious items in her car about 10am on Saturday, but was let go
- The FBI believes the attacks were politically motivated
- Inside his car they found handmade 'No Kings' flyers, an anti-Trump protests that took place across the US that he may have planned to attack
- Boelter was a Trump supporter and opposed abortion, according to his roommate
- Cops found a hit list of prominent abortion rights campaigners, many of them Democratic lawmakers, inside his vehicle
Boelter was seen in CCTV footage wearing a cowboy hat identical to one found on Sunday
Authorities went house to house in rural Belle Plaine, Minnesota on Sunday as the search for Boelter continued
Police say Boelter shot Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home in Champlin at around 2am on Saturday, but they survived the attack with multiple wounds.
Hortman and her husband Mark were then fatally shot at their home eight miles away in Brooklyn Park about 3am.
Officers then encountered the gunman fleeing Hortman's home at 3.35am and exchanged gunfire with him, which is when they reportedly found the initial hit list.
Chilling photos showed the suspect donning an unsettling costume mask covering his entire head.
Yet officers somehow let the suspect slip through their fingers as he escaped the scene on foot.
Following his arrest Sunday, a newly-unsealed criminal complaint, obtained by The Minnesota Star Tribune, says officers watched as he shot and killed Mark Hortman.
He was allegedly heavily armed at the time.
It also notes that the first 911 call was made by one of John and Yvette Hoffman's children after they were shot multiple times while trying to protect their daughter, Hope.
Authorities have also questioned Boelter's wife, Jenny, who was stopped at a convenience store while driving a car with three other relatives inside near Onamia about 10am on Saturday
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By around 4pm Sunday, a four-door dark blue Buick Regal sedan was removed from the search area on a flatbed truck
Following the fatal shooting, authorities questioned Boelter's wife, Jenny, who was stopped at a convenience store while driving a car with three other relatives inside near Onamia about 10am on Saturday.
She was found with a weapon, ammunition, cash, and passports about 75 miles from where the shootings took place in northern Minneapolis eight hours earlier.
More than a dozen officers swarmed Jenny's car during the traffic stop and they were at the scene for two to three hours.
Jenny was detained for questioning after officers found the items inside the vehicle, but no one was arrested as she was released.
Authorities have since said she and other family members were cooperative with the investigation.
But it remains unclear whether Boelter's vehicle was stopped randomly or being tracked by police.
The property law enforcement was searching on Sunday includes several abandoned, crumbling homes and barns
Camouflaged law enforcement agents carefully swept the area