Hundreds of police officers in suburban Minneapolis are still searching for a man who authorities say posed as a police officer and fatally wounded Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home, Beta news agency reports.
Minnesota Governor and former United States (US) vice presidential candidate Tim Volz described the murder as politically motivated.
Former House Speaker Hortman and her husband, Mark, were murdered in their home in Brooklyn Park.
The same suspect injured Senator John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife Yvette at their home in Champlin, about 15 kilometers away.
Police said they are looking for 57-year-old Vance Belter and that he has not yet been caught.
No details were provided about a possible motive.
Hortman was a leading Democrat in Congress and former Speaker of the House, first elected to that position in 2004.
Volz said earlier today that former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered, and that he believes the attack on them was politically motivated.
"All of us, in Minnesota and across the country, must stand up to these forms of physical violence," Walz told reporters today.
Democratic Rep. John Hoffman and his wife were also wounded in a separate shooting.
CNN reported that two law enforcement officials familiar with the case said the suspect has been identified as Vance Belter.
CNN reports that Belter is 57 years old and, according to law enforcement officials, works for the security company Praetorian Guard Security.
The company's website states that Belter serves as director of security patrols and has received training from members of the U.S. military.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Chief Drew Evans said local authorities are actively searching for the suspect, who is suspected of wearing a police uniform during the attack.
Police found a "manifesto"
Reuters reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and law enforcement officials said a gunman posing as a police officer killed a senior Democratic lawmaker and her husband on Sunday in an apparent "politically motivated assassination" and wounded another lawmaker and his wife.
A massive manhunt for the suspect, supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is underway, and the suspect fled on foot after shooting at police and abandoning a vehicle in which officers found a "manifesto" and a list of other lawmakers and officials, law enforcement officials said.
The list included about 70 names, CNN law enforcement analyst John Miller, a former FBI public affairs chief and former head of intelligence and counterterrorism for the New York Police Department, reported, citing law enforcement sources.
They included abortion providers, abortion rights advocates and lawmakers in Minnesota and other states, he said.
ABC News, also citing law enforcement officials, said the list includes dozens of Minnesota Democrats, including Volz, Representative Ilhan Omar, Senator Tina Smith and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The murders of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark have sparked reactions of shock and horror from Republican and Democratic politicians across the country and calls for a reduction in increasingly controversial political rhetoric.
Impersonated a police officer
Hortman and her husband were killed in their home in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, Waltz said. The Minneapolis suburb is in the northern part of Hennepin County, a Democratic stronghold, according to Reuters.
Hortman's official website states that she and her husband have two children.
Waltz said the gunman went to the Hortmans' residence after shooting Senator John Hoffman and his wife multiple times at their home in the nearby town of Champlin.
They underwent surgery, Volc said, adding that he was "cautiously optimistic" that they would survive "this assassination attempt."
"This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful conversation is the foundation of our democracy. We do not resolve our differences through violence or at gunpoint," Volc said.
Law enforcement officials said the gunman attacked the Hoffmans around 2 a.m. Central Time and then drove about five miles to the Hortmans' residence.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said the "very intuitive" police sergeant who responded to the attack on the Hoffmans asked his colleagues to "proactively" check the Hortmans' residence.
Two officers who arrived at the Hortmans' home saw what appeared to be a police vehicle parked in the yard with its emergency lights on and a person dressed and equipped as a police officer exiting the house, Bruli said.
He said that the suspect immediately shot at the police officers, who returned fire, and the suspect retreated back into the house.
The suspect, who was wearing a stun gun vest, other police gear and a badge, is believed to have fled out the back of the house, he said.
The Hortmans and Hoffmans were on a list of names found in the suspect's car, officials said.
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