(The Center Square) – Two Minnesota state lawmakers who are members of the Democratic-Farm-Labor Party were shot early Saturday by a person posing as a law enforcement officer just north of Minneapois, according to multiple reports.
Law enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order for an area around Edinburgh Course early Saturday while they continued to search for a suspect believed to be wearing blue pants, a blue shirt, body armor, and reportedly driving a dark SUV with lights.
State Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and his wife were reportedly shot around 2 a.m., and DFL Floor Leader Melissa Hortman was reportedly shot in Champlin, along with her dog.
The shootings happened seven miles away from each other, and law enforcement officials have called both shootings “targeted.”
The conditions of the Hoffmans and Hortman have not been released by law enforcement.
Law enforcement was dispatched to the homes of several other state lawmakers – both Democrats and Republicans – in the Twin Cities area for protection overnight.
“I’ve activated the state emergency operations center. Local law enforcement in Champlin and Brooklyn Park have the full resources of the state of Minnesota behind them. We are monitoring the situation closely and will share information soon,” Gov. Tim Waltz said on social media.
Hoffman was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and currently chairs the Human Services Committee.
Hortman was first elected in 2002 and was elected as speaker of the house in 2018.
