Minnesota lawmaker shootings: Who is John Hoffman?

Who is Minnesota lawmaker John Hoffman?

FOX 9's Courtney Godfrey joined live coverage on Saturday after Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman were shot, as well as their spouses. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were both hospitalized. We learn more about who Hoffman is and what he does in the Minnesota Legislature.

CHAMPLIN, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two Minnesota lawmakers were shot, one fatally, in separate incidents Saturday morning in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.

Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were taken to a hospital to have surgery and are recovering. Authorities say the suspect is 57-year-old Vance Boelter.

MN lawmaker shooting: The latest, timeline of what happened

Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in Brooklyn Park. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in what police are calling a targeted attack.

Who is John Hoffman?

What we know:

Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one daughter.

Hoffman lives in Champlin, and owns a consulting firm. He and his wife, Yvette, have one daughter. He previously was marketing and public relations director for a nonprofit provider of employment services for people with mental illnesses and intellectual and developmental disabilities and supervised a juvenile detention center in Iowa.

In 2023, Hoffman supported budget legislation that extended the state MinnesotaCare health program to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, starting this year. On Monday, he voted against a bill to end that coverage for adults on Jan. 1 — a GOP goal that was a key part of the budget agreement that Hortman helped broker.

Last year, Hoffman sponsored a bill designed to prevent courts from blocking people with disabilities from adopting children, and in 2023, he proposed an amendment to the state constitution to create a fund to pay for long-term care by taxing the Social Security benefits of the state’s wealthiest residents.

A staunch disability advocate

Why you should care:

FOX 9’s Courtney Godfrey joined coverage on Saturday and said she got to know Hoffman and his family when she became an amputee. She lost her leg in a 2017 boating accident. Hoffman’s daughter is also an amputee.

"John is known across the state for being a staunch disability advocate," Godfrey said. "He’s someone who Republicans and Democrats alike would say he’s there for the right reasons. He wants to help people. This is not a political issue, John Hoffman might have been a staunch Democrat, but he had friends on the other side of the aisle."

Timeline of what happened

Timeline:

Here's a look at the timeline of what we know so far:

About 2 a.m. on June 14

A 911 call in Champlin was made at about 2 a.m. Saturday. Police then found that Minnesota Sen. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, had been shot. Both Hoffman and his wife are recovering from gunshot wounds after undergoing surgery at the hospital. Yvette Hoffman dove in front of her child to protect her from the gunman.

3:35 a.m. June 14

Brooklyn Park police officers then "proactively" went to the home of Rep. Hortman, authorities say. It was there that they encountered the suspect, who was dressed up as an officer with a fake police vehicle. The suspect opened fire on officers, but the suspect fled. In the suspect's vehicle, authorities found a manifesto with lawmakers' names on it and papers with "No Kings" written on them.

5:30 a.m. June 14

The shelter-in-place alert was sent at 5:30 a.m. by BPPD for the 3-mile radius around the Edinburgh Golf Course.

Around 6 a.m. June 14

Vance Boelter briefly returned to a home near 49th and Fremont in Minneapolis, where he rented a room part-time. He texted two of the roommates that he had made some bad choices, he doesn't want to implicate them, and he may be dead soon. He did have vehicles at the home and broke out one of the windows, but it's unclear if he took one of those vehicles before he fled. The image of Boelter in the cowboy hat is from the surveillance cameras at this home. The renters have been allowed back inside the home.

Around 9:45 a.m. June 14

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced at a press conference that Hortman and her husband had died after being shot. Walz said they're "cautiously optimistic" about Hoffman and his wife's recovery.

Around 11 a.m. June 14

Authorities and Gov. Walz urged people to not attend any political rallies until the suspect is apprehended.

Around 11:30 a.m. June 14

Champlin authorities say there is no current threat to public safety in the city.

Before 1 p.m. June 14

The Associated Press identified Vance Luther Boelter, 57, as the suspect. He was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2016 and then by Gov. Walz in 2019 to the bipartisan workforce development board. His term expired in 2023.

About 1:30 p.m. June 14

Police clear the scene at Hoffman's house in Champlin.

Around 1:45 p.m. June 14

Police served a search warrant at a home near 49th and Fremont in Minneapolis in connection with the investigation. Authorities used battering rams to get inside. Those who are renting the home told FOX 9 Boelter was a part-time renter of a room in the home.

Around 2 p.m. on June 14

Law enforcement in Green Isle sent tactical units to a home about 5 miles southeast of town as part of the manhunt to find Boelter. Boelter has a home in Green Isle.

3 p.m. on June 14

Authorities named Vance Boelter as a "person of interest" and suspect in the case, and asked for the public's help in locating him.

3:20 p.m. on June 14

Brooklyn Park authorities have cleared the shelter-in-place order. But an alert sent to people living in the area asks people to call 911 if you see something suspicious. Police will still be in the area collecting evidence. Meanwhile, Mercy Hospital remains on lockdown.

3:50 p.m. on June 14

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner released the initial reports for the Hortmans, saying Melissa Hortman, 55, and Mark Hortman, 58, both died of multiple gunshot wounds. A time of death was not listed, but the report says Mark Hortman died at North Memorial Hospital, while Melissa Hortman died at her home.