Minnesota lawmaker shootings: Vance Boelter's 43 hours on the run expose mistakes in law enforcement response

MINNEAPOLIS - Vance Boelter stood in the backyard of state Rep. Melissa and Mark Hortman's Brooklyn Park home as they lay dying behind him.

He had few options.

A cavalry of law enforcement was descending on the area as word spread of a second shooting at a state lawmaker's home in the early morning hours of June 14, 2025.

In front of Boelter was an impassable section of the Edinburgh USA golf course. To his left were residential backyards. To his right were fairways lined with dense woods.

He went right.

Police wrongly believed Boelter was barricaded and injured in the basement. It took them more than an hour to realize he wasn't there.

It was the head start Boelter needed. Surveillance footage showed him spending nearly 30 minutes on the golf course as he plotted his improbable escape in what became the largest manhunt in state history.

A Minnesota Star Tribune timeline of that deadly weekend shows how quick thinking by some law enforcement agencies may have prevented even more deaths. At the same time, interviews, investigative details and law enforcement records reveal that the State Patrol denied initial calls to launch a helicopter to help find the suspect in the minutes after state Sen. John Hoffman and his family were attacked, one of several missed opportunities that could have prevented the killings or stopped Boelter's escape.

Boelter is now in federal custody awaiting a potential trial on charges that he stalked and assassinated the Hortmans and severely wounded Hoffman, his wife, Yvette, and shot at their daughter, Hope. While the law says Boelter is presumed innocent until proven guilty, prosecutors have presented a mountain of evidence that implicates him in the crimes, including his written admission to the FBI that he is the "shooter at large in Minnesota."

Boelter did not respond to an interview request for this story and his attorney declined to comment because his criminal case is pending.

JUNE 14

2:02 a.m.

An attack in the night

An apparent law enforcement officer pounds on the front door and rings the doorbell at the Hoffman home in a leafy, suburban neighborhood in Champlin. Flashing police lights on an SUV reflect off neighboring garage doors in the dark. The officer tells the Hoffmans to come down with their hands up.

Ring video footage from the home shows the officer is actually wearing a lifelike rubber mask as the door is opened slightly. After a brief conversation, he enters the doorway but is pushed out. He fires a burst of gunshots in seconds and flees.

2:05 a.m.

‘You‘re not going to die'

Hope Hoffman calls 911. She tells emergency dispatch that a masked man "dressed as fake police" shot her parents. "My dad is Sen. John Hoffman," Hope says. She yells at her mom and dad to stay responsive.

She tells dispatch that her father was targeted because he is a state senator and that the shooter had fled.

"We shouldn't have answered," Hope says.

She tells her father, "You're not gonna die."

2:06 a.m.

Alert sent to law enforcement

The first emergency dispatch is sent to law enforcement in Hennepin County: "someone came to door and shot parents ... masked parties." Dispatch notes one of the shooting victims is a state senator and the suspect is a man who "had state police uniform on & white mask."

2:12 a.m.

Request for state helicopter denied

A request is made for the State Patrol Flight Section to aid in the search for the shooter. Within a minute, dispatch notes the State Patrol said support is not available.

State Patrol helicopters are some of the most powerful surveillance tools to capture a fleeing suspect. Equipped with high-definition cameras, they can detect people at night with infrared technology or thermal imaging. Pilots are trained to use night vision goggles, and live video can be securely streamed online.

The State Patrol can typically launch a helicopter within 15 minutes of a request, a spokesperson said. The flight section is staffed from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m., and pilots are on call the remainder of the day.

The State Patrol told The Minnesota Star Tribune that it denied the initial request for search support because of the weather.

National Weather Service records show the weather conditions in the Twin Cities were overcast and less than 1 millimeter of rain fell. Wind was less than 10 miles per hour with moderate gusts.

It would take three hours for the first helicopter to launch and aid the search.

2:19 a.m.

First check on state lawmaker

The first known check on a state lawmaker was the home of Sen. Warren Limmer by Maple Grove police, minutes after the Hoffmans were shot.

Police checked on at least seven state lawmakers between the Hoffman shooting and the killings of the Hortmans, according to data requests to 125 law enforcement agencies.

2:20 a.m.

‘This guy is a state senator'

As a drone is launched at the Hoffman residence to search for the suspect, a police officer says on the radio, "Given this guy is a state senator, you might want to notify State Patrol so they can work on other senator notifications as they cover dignitary protection." Emergency dispatch alerts the State Patrol within seconds.

2:23 a.m.

Police get first glimpse of suspect

Law enforcement check the Hoffmans' security camera footage and share that the suspect is a white male in a dark blue uniform in a black SUV with red and blue flashing lights.

2:24 a.m.

An attempted attack miles away

Nine miles from the Hoffmans' home, a man in a dark blue police uniform wearing a black tactical vest and a white mask appears at state Rep. Kristin Bahner's door in Maple Grove. The man bangs on the door and rings the doorbell, saying loudly, "This is the police. Open the door. This is the police. We have a warrant." Bahner is away on vacation, but Boelter is captured on her home security system.

A few minutes later, State Patrol officials are alerted to more suspect information, and law enforcement is told to be on the lookout for a vehicle with Minnesota or Iowa plates that turns out to not be involved in the shooting.

2:36 a.m.

Encounter with suspect in New Hope

A New Hope police officer is dispatched to check on state Sen. Ann Rest and comes upon a black, idling SUV with its headlights on. It has a makeshift license plate that says, "POLICE." A man inside stares straight ahead. The New Hope officer speaks to him, but the man does not respond and does not turn his head. The New Hope officer drives away to check on Rest and finds no disturbances.

After another officer arrives, the first responding officer describes having an uneasy feeling about the interaction. The two officers circle back, but the SUV is gone.

2:37 a.m.

State Patrol leadership notified

State Patrol Capt. Eric Roeske, head of the Capitol Security Division, is alerted to the threat to lawmakers. Capitol security rolled out an emergency alert system for legislators in 2017. It is not used. Enrollment in the system was voluntary, and the State Patrol said the system hadn't been used for incidents outside the State Capitol.

3 a.m.

New Hope office shares encounter

The New Hope police officer learns the suspect in the shooting at the Hoffmans' house was disguised as a police officer and in a police-style SUV. According to a source familiar with the situation, the New Hope officer calls their supervisor with the details of the previous encounter near Rest's home.

The New Hope Police Department declined interview requests about its officers' interaction with Boelter that morning. There is no record in the incident reports from the shootings that the encounter was shared with other law enforcement agencies.

3:02 a.m.

Crime Watch posts

Twin Cities Crime Watch & Information, a social media account that monitors law enforcement scanners, posts on X that a double shooting occurred in Champlin.

The post is quickly updated to include that the injured party is a "local political figure and their spouse."

3:35 a.m.

Law enforcement check at Hortmans'

Two Brooklyn Park police officers checking on Melissa Hortman arrive at her home. A man in dark clothing dressed as a police officer is standing several feet from the front door, pointing a flashlight at the entryway. A police-style SUV is parked outside the home with lights flashing.

One of the Brooklyn Park officers fires at the man, who fires multiple shots into the entryway of the home at Mark Hortman and then enters the front door. Within seconds, a second round of gunfire is heard as muzzle flashes light up the interior of the home.

Dispatch is alerted to shots fired and that a male is shot in the doorway and the shooter is in the house. Ten law enforcement vehicles are en route to the house within 51 seconds.

3:37 a.m.

Mark Hortman pulled from house

Brooklyn Park officers rush to the front door and pull Mark Hortman out of the house. He has been shot multiple times. They begin providing medical aid and request perimeter help to the rear of the home.

It would take more than an hour for officers to enter the home again.

3:39 a.m.

Backyard secured

Within four minutes of the shots fired call, another officer arrives and secures the back of the home. Dispatch shares that police "did not see shooter come out and did not see shooter after he went in the house."

Chief Mark Bruley later says that the officers on the scene saw blood in the entryway of the home, believed they had shot the attacker and that he was "held up in the basement."

3:40 a.m.

Shooter dumps gear on golf course

The shooter flees the house and begins making his way around the Edinburgh USA golf course, using it to hide evidence.

He strips off his gear, including his mask, wig and tactical vest. He also dumps a flashlight, magazines of ammunition and two Beretta semiautomatic handguns, including one he disassembles. The equipment is found near the clubhouse and in ponds and creek areas behind the homes near the first and second holes.

3:43 a.m.

Police share Hortman's political ties

Dispatch notes that "Melissa Hortman is DFL house rep" and the State Patrol is alerted of the second shooting.

3:48 a.m.

Brooklyn Park requests State Patrol helicopter

A second request for air support is made to the State Patrol Flight Unit. Dispatch notes that the helicopter should arrive in "less than an hour."

3:53 a.m.

Request for bomb dogs and armored trucks

Law enforcement agencies from across the metro arrive at the Hortmans' home. Brooklyn Park police request bomb-sniffing dogs and armored vehicles but wait to enter the home.

A senior law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said officers should have entered the home immediately because the attack was an active shooter situation. Brooklyn Park police have argued at various times that it was viewed as a de-escalation or hostage situation and that officers did not know Melissa Hortman was inside the house.

The Brooklyn Park Police Department later cleared its officers of wrongdoing and said they followed department policy. When the department was asked which policy it was following at the Hortman house, spokesperson Matt Rabe told the Star Tribune, "We operate under all our policies, all the time."

Approximately 4 a.m.

Shooter exits golf course

A person familiar with the gunman's actions said he spent nearly 30 minutes on the course and was caught on clubhouse surveillance cameras before making his way into the night. Footage from the course is later shared with law enforcement.

4:06 a.m.

Drone enters Hortman's home

Law enforcement deploy an interior drone at the Hortmans' and locate a female "down on stairwell landing." Dispatch notes that it is unclear if she is breathing, and there appears to be a dead dog in the house, as well. A source familiar with the footage said it showed Melissa Hortman curled up, unmoving. A second drone enters the house six minutes later to clear the second floor. For the next two hours, drones cycle in and out of the house to search for a suspect.

4:24 a.m.

Mark Hortman declared dead

After being transported to North Memorial Hospital, Mark Hortman, 58, is declared dead. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds.

4:25 a.m.

‘Every city was left to its own response.'

The first widespread alert to law enforcement throughout the seven-county Twin Cities metro area is sent via teletype. State Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson later said it was the only system available to get the information to every dispatch center.

State Sen. Jim Abeler, who received quick protection and information from his local police in Anoka, said, "Every city was left to its own response."

4:30 a.m.

Legislative leaders alerted

Gov. Tim Walz's chief of staff, Chris Schmitter, contacts legislative leaders, warning them that violent incidents had taken place at lawmakers' homes.

4:38 a.m.

Police enter the Hortman home

One hour and three minutes after the shooting, an emergency extraction team is sent in and finds Melissa Hortman's body.

4:42 a.m.

Rep. Hortman removed from home

Hortman is removed from her home and taken to an ambulance. Despite not being physically checked on until now - and a first responder thinking a pulse may have been detected - the Hennepin County medical examiner declares her time of death as 3:35 a.m. because that was the "time body was found." Hortman was 55 years old.

4:46 a.m.

‘I think this is a hit list'

Officers find five firearms, including three AK-47s, large quantities of ammunition loaded into magazines and a medical kit in the SUV parked in Hortman's driveway. They also find lists with the names of dozens of Democratic officials in Minnesota and flyers that read "No Kings," referencing a political rally protesting the Trump administration slated to be held at the State Capitol later that day.

Officers give Brooklyn Park detectives a collection of paperwork from the SUV. As they open it, an officer turns to Bruley and says, "Chief, I think this is a hit list."

4:48 a.m.

SUV owners identified, suspect named

Police use the VIN number on the SUV to identify the owners as Vance Luther Boelter and Jenny Lynne Boelter. Police issue a "be on the lookout" for Vance Boelter and share his home address in Green Isle, Minnesota.

5 a.m.

Police realize Boelter has escaped

Nearly 90 minutes after officers first encountered Boelter at the Hortmans', a request is sent for additional squad cars to set up a perimeter. "Male is on foot in the area," dispatch notes.

5 a.m.

First message to legislators

Jacobson tells legislative leaders to immediately inform lawmakers about the violence.

5:10 a.m.

State Patrol helicopter launched

After a 20-minute delay because of a mechanical issue, a State Patrol helicopter launches to search for Boelter. According to tracking by Flightradar24, the helicopter is in the air for one hour, 41 minutes, landing at 6:50 a.m. Over the next 40 hours, 13 flights would aid in the search for Boelter.

5:13 a.m.

Search warrant at Hoffmans'

Hennepin County District Court Judge Jean Burdorf signs a search warrant allowing law enforcement to enter the Hoffman home and gather physical and DNA evidence from the shooting. The suspect is listed as an "unknown person." It's the first of more than a dozen search warrants signed over two days related to Boelter.

5:20 a.m.

Shelter-in-place

The Brooklyn Park Police Department issues a shelter-in-place order for a 3-mile radius of the Edinburgh USA golf course "for an emergency event." It remained in place for several hours.

6:10 a.m.

Boelter arrives in North Minneapolis

Boelter arrives at a home in north Minneapolis where he rents a room. Security footage shows him wearing a cowboy hat and breaking the passenger window of his black Ford Police Interceptor. It's one of several vehicles he purchased for his family's private security firm. He opens the door and rummages through the car for about a minute.

6:12 a.m.

Drone search completed

Two hours after a drone was launched into the Hortman's, police determine the drone "did what it can" and hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary in the basement of the home. "Nothing looks disturbed," dispatch notes, "and no blood on other side of basement door."

6:18 a.m.

‘May be dead shortly'

Boelter texts his family, saying: "Dad went to war last night ... I don't wanna say more because I don't wanna implicate anybody." He sends a separate message to his wife: "Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation ... there's gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don't want you guys around."

Boelter also texts his roommate, David Carlson, that he "may be dead shortly."

"I wish it hadn't gone this way," Boelter writes. "I don't wanna say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don't know anything about this. But I love you guys and I'm sorry for all the trouble that it's caused."

6:30 a.m.

‘Dangerous Individual'

Jacobson shares a message for legislative leaders to send to their members, warning of a "dangerous individual" who has made threats against state legislators and other prominent figures. He urges lawmakers to contact local law enforcement but does not mention the suspected gunman impersonated a police officer and carried a list of targets.

6:44 a.m.

Tips pour in

As a massive search gets underway, tips start pouring in. Police detain a man less than a mile from the Hortman home who says he is there to pick up Boelter. The FBI meets with the man and dispatch notes that police are "going to get a ping on his phone ASAP."

The FBI field office in Minneapolis declined to comment on the incident because the case is being actively prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office. Several suspects were pursued and questioned over the course of the investigation. Law enforcement officials continue to allege Boelter acted alone.

6:55 a.m.

A chance meeting to buy a Buick

Boelter meets a man at a bus stop on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis and asks to buy his e-bike. The man later tells law enforcement he had never met Boelter. The man and Boelter spend more than two hours together. They board a bus and travel to the man's residence. Once they arrive, Boelter asks if he can also buy the man's Buick. The man agrees.

6:56 a.m.

Police deploy gas inside Hortman's

Law enforcement continue to search the Hortman home for Boelter and deploy "gas elements" working from one side of the house to the other.

7:13 a.m.

Grid search starts

More than three hours after Boelter used the golf course to escape, police begin searching in grids around Brooklyn Park with K-9s and identify "exit points for golf course," according to dispatch.

7:35 a.m.

Walz posts on the attacks

Thirty minutes later, the state emergency operations center is activated.

Walz's post on social media: "I've been briefed this morning on an ongoing situation involving targeted shootings in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.

"The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene. We will share more information soon."

7:36 a.m.

Roommate contacts police

About an hour after receiving Boelter's text, his roommate, Carlson, calls 911.

Carlson spells out Boelter's full name and provides Boelter's cellphone number. Carlson suggests Boelter may have broken into his own car since the passenger side window has been "smashed in." Carlson says Boelter was acting "very strange" lately, noting his roommate gave him $1,100 a day earlier.

The dispatcher says police will ping Boelter's phone to see if they can get his location. "So you're not just sending the police over?" Carlson asks. "We gotta do what we need to do to try and narrow down a location for him," the dispatcher says. Pressed by Carlson, the dispatcher agrees to send an officer to "check around your house."

8:14 a.m.

‘He does have some guns'

A Minneapolis police car pulls up to Boelter's rental home, and an officer interviews Carlson, who explains that Boelter is not in the house and won't answer his phone. "I said I was concerned about him taking his own life," Carlson recalled later. "And I think they asked me if he had access to weapons. I said, ‘Well, yeah, he does have some guns.'"

8:20 a.m.

Police don't search rental home

The police officer calls someone on his cellphone and asks: "Are we confirming this is the guy?" Carlson and another roommate leave with the police and go to a nearby staging area. Carlson told the Star Tribune none of the officers asked to search his house, even though he said he would have given them permission to enter the property and search for Boelter. "I thought it was kind of weird," Carlson said.

8:30 a.m.

Widespread check on lawmakers

By 8:30 a.m., at least 57 of the state's 206 elected officials had been checked on. This included state senators, representatives, the governor, lieutenant governor and other constitutional officers. Through public records requests, the Star Tribune confirmed welfare checks for about 108 public officials on June 14 or June 15.

Some agencies had officers driving by a lawmaker's home several times a day. Others had officers parked outside homes for at least two days, rotating officers on a regular basis.

8:51 a.m.

New description of Boelter appearance

Law enforcement receives a new description of Boelter's appearance based off a Fremont Avenue camera. "Blue tactical pants ... blue long sleeve tactical shirt ... no vest ... tan colored cowboy hat."

9 a.m.

A last known image

Boelter and the man he met at the bus stop travel to a U.S. Bank in Robbinsdale, where Boelter takes out $2,200 and pays the man $900 for the e-bike and Buick.

Images show Boelter and the man leaning over the car, casually talking in the bank parking lot. It is the last known public image of Boelter until he is arrested. The man who sold his car and e-bike to Boelter did not respond to several interview requests.

An employee of the bank later contacts the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to report the suspicious transaction. Police later track the Buick using surveillance cameras.

9:45 a.m.

First news conference

Walz, surrounded by law enforcement leaders, steps up to the podium and says, "We're here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota." Walz tells the state the Hortmans are dead and that there is cautious optimism the Hoffmans will survive after going through surgery.

"This was an act of targeted political violence," Walz says.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans confirms an active manhunt for the suspect but doesn't name him.

10:30 a.m.

Police stop and question Boelter's wife and children

Police call Jenny Boelter as she is driving with her family. She agrees to pull over and meet law enforcement at the Casey's gas station in Onamia. They search her car and find passports, two guns and $10,000 in cash.

Jenny Boelter tells police that her husband recently purchased masks resembling the one captured on security footage at the Hoffmans' home. She also said he still owned a Ford vehicle with "blue and red lights for his security business" - the make of the vehicle used in the attacks - and that the first person Vance contacted that morning was their son.

Jenny agrees to cooperate with the investigation. Police allow her to leave.

10:32 a.m.

Trump issues statement

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tweeted on behalf of President Donald J. Trump:

"I have been briefed on the terrible shooting that took place in Minnesota, which appears to be a targeted attack against State Lawmakers. Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!"

11:59 a.m.

Officials share the list of political targets

The Department of Public Safety, which worked with federal authorities to share an initial list of Boelter's potential targets, shares the names with the House and Senate caucuses.

The list continues to grow as police assemble names from notebooks and scraps of paper.

12:05 p.m.

Search warrant for Boelter home

Scott County District Court Judge Charles Webber signs a search warrant for law enforcement to enter the Boelter family's home in Green Isle, Minn. They find roughly four dozen guns, including pistols, semiautomatic firearms, several shotguns and a rifle with a scope.

12:33 p.m.

Evidence found on golf course

A K-9 unit searching the western edge of the Edinburgh USA golf course finds the first evidence Boelter left behind. "Team 1 KP just found ammo from gun? - Disassembled," an officer shares and adds, "Creekline pretty thick brush by where weapon was found."

For the next several hours, evidence is found at the golf course clubhouse and behind several homes in the area, including a handgun, a bulletproof vest, ammunition, a Taser, flashlight, fake police badge, gun holster, wig and mask. Investigators find a second handgun in a separate search five days later.

1 p.m.

Thousands attend ‘No Kings' rally

Despite an official cancellation and a warning not to attend, more than 30,000 people arrive for the "No Kings" rally at the State Capitol. Walz, who had been a scheduled speaker, does not attend, but Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks and urges the crowd to work in Rep. Melissa Hortman's memory.

1:09 p.m.

Police arrive, again, at Boelter's rental property

Six hours after Carlson first requested help, SWAT vehicles arrive at Boelter's rental home in north Minneapolis. "This is the Minneapolis Police Department," a voice on a loudspeaker announces. "We have a search warrant for the residence ... This is a lawful order ... Keep your hands empty and above your head ... Vance Boelter, you are under arrest. Come to the front door now." Two minutes later, a tank-like vehicle with a battering ram smashes through the front door.

Officers use a flash-bang and enter the house.

Police find receipts for items believed to be used in the attack, ammunition and several notebooks that showed extensive surveillance of the Hortman home and the names and addresses of "numerous public officials" in Minnesota.

2:15 p.m.

Police leave the home

After the SWAT team leaves, Carlson and his roommates are allowed back in the home, despite evidence suggesting Boelter may have planned the shootings at the house. Carlson later said the police did so much damage to the property that he likely will be evicted. "I would have let them in ... but they didn't give me that opportunity," Carlson told the Star Tribune. Minneapolis never issues an official shelter-in-place warning in north Minneapolis.

For months, the Star Tribune requested interviews with the Minneapolis Police Department about its actions at Carlson's home. The department never responded.

3 p.m.

State officials identify Boelter as suspect

At a news conference, Evans identifies Boelter as the suspect in the shootings. He provides several images of Boelter, including pictures taken that morning at the U.S. Bank in Robbinsdale. "We would like to speak to anybody that may have had contact with him at any point in time," Evans says.

3:21 p.m.

Shelter in place lifted

After 10 hours, Brooklyn Park police lift the shelter-in-place order for the 3-mile radius around Edinburgh USA golf course, saying, "The suspect is not in custody but there is reason to believe he is no longer in the area."

3:57 p.m.

$50,000 reward announced

Nearly 12 hours after Boelter fled the Hortman home, the FBI announces a $50,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest and conviction.

4:08 p.m.

‘Armed and dangerous'

Emergency dispatch issues an officer safety alert around the 2011 Buick, including the name of the owner who sold it to Boelter. "Subject does have a goatee/may be traveling with person involved in homicide considered armed and dangerous." Within minutes, an alert is sent to surrounding states.

6:17 p.m.

Arrest warrant issued

The Hennepin County attorney's office files a sealed nationwide search warrant for Boelter, charging him with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

JUNE15

1:01 a.m.

False alarm

In the middle of the night, state Sen. Jim Carlson calls 911 after a home security camera records what appears to be a man in the backyard with a flashlight or weapon. Nine Eagan police officers arrive, but it turns out to be a false alarm. The police report notes that Carlson is on the elected official list.

Law enforcement checked on at least 85 state officials by this time, according to a Star Tribune database of calls for service.

2:30 a.m.

Boelter spotted in Green Isle

A little more than 24 hours after the shootings started, police receive a report of an individual driving an e-bike about two miles from Boelter's home in Green Isle. Police do not find Boelter, but they discover the Buick, which was abandoned nearby on Highway 25.

Police find a letter in the vehicle that Boelter allegedly wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel saying he is the shooter-at-large. He also writes that he carried out his attacks after Walz approached him about a plan to kill Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith so that Walz could get a Senate seat. They also find Boelter's laptop, which shows he entered the address of Melissa Hortman's home into Google Maps on May 15, 2025.

Prosecutors say there is no evidence that Boelter's accusation against Walz is based in fact.

9:39 a.m.

Search warrants for Boelter's family

Burdorf, the Hennepin County District Court judge, signs a search warrant for law enforcement to track and trace the cellphone of Boelter's son because he was the first person Boelter contacted after the shootings. The warrant approves GPS tracking of the phone using its location history. Over the next two hours, Burdorf signs additional warrants to track Jenny and Vance Boelter‘s phones. Law enforcement had already been tracking Vance Boelter's phone after getting cooperation with T-Mobile under "exigent circumstances," according to records. The phone has been turned off.

1:53 p.m.

Residence searches in Sibley County

An emergency alert is issued for parts of Sibley County, announcing that Boelter's vehicle has been located in Faxon Township. "Suspect not located. Keep your doors locked and vehicles secured," the notice read. "Law enforcement will be going to area residences to ask to search properties."

5 p.m.

Klobuchar shares updates from Hoffman

Klobuchar posts to her Instagram an update from Yvette Hoffman that her family is "so humbled by the love and outpouring we received from everyone. John is enduring many surgeries right now and is closer every hour to being out of the woods. He took 9 bullet hits. I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive."

5:30 p.m.

Officials provide update on search

At a news conference, Evans, the BCA superintendent, says the search is focused on Sibley County but that law enforcement was also working to understand how Boelter evaded capture. "We have not concluded exactly how he is getting around the area at this time; it could be multiple ways that he has traveled."

7 p.m.

Spotted on a trail cam

As dozens of law enforcement officers search for Boelter in Sibley County, a resident reports their trail camera captured an image of a man who looked like Boelter at 6:55 p.m.

"Most of the search had concluded then," Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher says that night. "But the trail cam picture alerted SWAT teams to go to that area, secure a perimeter, and with the help of drones, identify his location."

7:30 p.m.

Search warrant for Boelter's ‘separate phone'

Burdorf signs a search warrant for law enforcement to trace a "separate phone number" that belongs to Boelter. The affidavit states that police identified a new cellphone number for Boelter that was given to them by Carlson, his roommate in north Minneapolis.

8 p.m.

Alert neighbor helps lead to capture

Driving home from a friend's house, Wendy Thomas looks out her window and sees a man ducking low. He hides in the grass, dressed in black and covered in mud. Boelter had been to her house once for a pig roast. Thomas instantly knows it is him.

She drives up to several police officers, throws her arms outside the truck and shouts, "He's right there!"

9:12 p.m.

Boelter arrested

With the assistance of air support from the State Patrol, a number of SWAT teams converge on Boelter in the woods and arrest him.

Boelter attempts to evade arrest for about an hour, according to Fletcher, but eight teams crawled in ditches to corral him, and "he eventually surrendered peaceably after evading the SWAT teams." After being on the run for two days, Boelter is taken to the Sibley County Jail by the Brooklyn Park Police Department.

10:52 p.m.

Walz, law enforcement announce arrest

At a news briefing, Walz and law enforcement leaders announce Boelter's arrest ended a "complex and dangerous manhunt."

Walz and Jacobson praise "the coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement officers." Walz also decries the political violence that killed the Hortmans and nearly killed the Hoffmans.

"It cannot be the norm; it cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences," Walz says. "Now is the time for us to recommit to the core values of this country. And each and every one of us can do it."

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POSTSCRIPT

In the year since his arrest, Boelter has been held in the Sherburne County jail in Elk River. His federal case remains in the early stages, and the magistrate judge overseeing it has expressed frustration with how long it took prosecutors to decide they would not seek the death penalty against him. That decision was announced Monday. Boelter also faces mandatory life in prison on numerous first-degree murder charges in Hennepin County. He wrote to the Star Tribune last year to discuss his religious beliefs, his upbringing and the time he spent in Africa. He didn't answer questions about the charges against him.

Questions over his movements remain, most glaringly where he was in the 60 minutes between being spotted near Rest's home in New Hope and the killings at the Hortmans'; and how, exactly, he navigated from Brooklyn Park to Minneapolis in the middle of the night.

Last fall, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota State Patrol, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, and the police departments of Brooklyn Park, Champlin and New Hope agreed to pay $429,500 for an independent review of the law enforcement response to the shootings.

The State Capitol increased security with weapons screening and metal detectors to enter the building. Lawmakers approved a new unit in the State Patrol to protect politicians and Supreme Court justices who face credible threats, alongside tougher criminal penalties for people who impersonate police officers.

John Hoffman returned to work earlier this year. In April, his family filed a civil lawsuit against Boelter, seeking damages for the physical and emotional devastation he caused them. The Hoffmans made new allegations that Boelter stalked them extensively before the shooting.

Lawmakers approved numerous tributes for the Hortmans, and the state will consider turning the State Capitol grounds into a park named in Melissa and Mark Hortman's honor. Signs saying "Thank you, Melissa" and "Brooklyn Park Strong" remain ubiquitous in the neighborhood where the Hortmans lived.

Their home has been lovingly repaired. Birds flutter through the garden above a small statue of a dog. White flowers on towering crabapple trees bloom in the front yard. Planks of wood that covered immense damage are gone. Sunlight pours in through new windows.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 5:05 AM.