In what can be regarded as tragic incident in the United States, gunman, on Saturday, killed Minnesota State Rep, Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife in the attacks.
The CBS also reports that Governor Tim Walz also said the attacks were politically motivated , saying that authorities have identified a suspect who is still at large.
Hortman, 55, and her husband Mark, 58, were shot in their Brooklyn Park home, while Hoffman, 60, and his wife, Yvette were shot about 5 miles away in their Champlin home.
Investigators say they believe the suspect was dressed in a manner to appear like a police officer.
The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands took to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.
The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway.
Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called “horrific violence” and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to “the fullest extent of the law.”
Governor Walz also told reporters during a press conference that, “This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later.
The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman’s residence, Evans told reporters.
“We’re actively searching for that individual right now,” he said.
In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer.
“The suspect exploited the trust that our uniform is meant to represent,” said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
An anti-Trump rally in Minneapolis — part of the national wave of “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday — was canceled after police issued a shelter-in-place order because of the shootings.
Flyers for the protests were found in the suspect’s car, as well as a manifesto that named numerous politicians and state officials, police said.
Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said.
“We do have the suspect’s car. Suspect is on foot,” said Mark Bruley, the police chief in Brooklyn Park, where Hortman lived.
The US has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January.
The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda.
“At this precipice moment we’re on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us,” Walz said.
“The 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.”
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a friend who entered politics at the same time as her and dedicated her life to serving the state, working on issues such as women’s rights and clean energy.
“Let me be absolutely clear: this was an act of targeted political violence, and it was an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “We must all condemn it.”
Minnesota’s other US senator, Tina Smith, also issued a statement condemning the shootings.
Former House member, Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting to the head in 2011 and is now a prominent advocate for the prevention of gun violence, described herself as “devastated” by the death of Hortman.
“We must protect our democracy from those who try to destroy it with a gun,” Giffords wrote on X.
