Minnesota Manhunt Underway for Suspect in Deadly Shooting of Democratic State Lawmakers

Minnesota Police and the FBI kept up a massive manhunt on Saturday evening for a gunman posing as a police officer who killed a senior Democratic state assemblywoman and her husband in what Governor Tim Walz called a "politically motivated assassination."

The suspect, identified as 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, also allegedly shot and wounded a second lawmaker and his spouse, according to law enforcement officials and the FBI.

He fled on foot after firing at police at the home of slain former Minnesota House speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

Law enforcement officials said the suspect abandoned a vehicle that looked like a police SUV, in which officers found a "manifesto" and a target list of other politicians and institutions.

Boelter should be considered armed and dangerous and is believed to still be in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans told a news briefing, adding that it was too soon to determine a motive.

The suspect had links to evangelical ministries and claimed to be a security expert with experience in the Gaza Strip and Africa, according to online postings and public records reviewed by Reuters. Boelter also described himself online as a former employee of food service companies and was appointed in 2016 by Walz' predecessor to the advisory Governor's Workforce Development Board, according to state records.