Federal prosecutors unveiled murder and stalking charges Monday against the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses.
Vance Boelter, 57, was arrested on state murder charges Sunday night after a two-day manhunt. Minnesota does not have the death penalty, but federal prosecutors could try to execute him if Boelter is convicted on his six new federal charges.
Authorities say Boelter shot and killed former Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, at their home early Saturday. He also stands accused of injuring State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife Yvette in a shooting at their home about 8 miles away the same morning.
According to a newly unsealed affidavit, Boelter also visited the homes of two other elected officials that morning. Boelter left one after finding that no one was home, and police saw him in a dark SUV at the other before he drove off.
Boelter faces a stalking charge for each lawmaker he shot, murder charges for the killings of Hortman and her husband and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Joe Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, at a Monday press conference announcing the charges said Boetler “stalked his victims like prey.”
“It is no exaggeration to say this is the stuff of nightmares,” Thompson said.
He declined to say whether he would seek the death penalty but did not rule it out.
“It’s too early to tell, but that is one of the options for several of the charges,” he said.
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