State Rep. Melissa Hortman and State Sen. John Hoffman, who were targeted by a shooter on Saturday, were longtime members of Minnesota’s state legislature who spent years working to improve their communities, according to leaders who knew them.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed at their home in Brooklyn Park early Saturday by a suspect who posed as a police officer, investigators said. They left behind two children.
Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier in the morning by the same suspect inside their home at Champlin. The couple, who have a daughter, were rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery, Gov. Tim Walz said.
Authorities said they’ve identified 57-year-old Vance Boelter as a suspect as they search for the gunman.
In this Jan. 3, 2023, file photo, Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman addresses the house floor in St. Paul, Minn. | John Hoffman is show n during a floor session, on Jan. 4, 2023.
Abbie Parr/AP | A.J. Olmscheid, Minnesota Senate Media Services
Both state leaders were members of Minnesota’s Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), a state party affiliated with the Democrats.
Hortman, 55, nee Haluptzok, had the most experience in the state legislature. She earned a BA in political science and philosophy at Boston University and worked as an intern for then-Sen. Al Gore and later Sen. John Kerry, according to her campaign biography.
Hortman went on to earn a law degree at the University of Minnesota Law School in 1995 and clerked with Judge John Sommerville. She later earned an MPA from Harvard in 2018.
Outside politics, Hortman worked as a private attorney and volunteered her time in the local school board and Sunday school at Saint Timothy Catholic Church in Blaine. She first ran for office in 1998, for the State House of Representatives seat, but lost.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman glances at the gallery before gaveling in the first session of the 2024 legislative session, on Feb. 12, 2024.
Andrew VonBank, Minnesota House Public Information Services
After another defeat for the same seat four years later, Hortman was elected to the state’s District 47B in 2004.
Hortman quickly rose through the ranks of the House, serving as assistant majority leader from 2007 to 2010 and as minority whip from 2011 to 2012. She championed many causes, including reproductive rights and environmental issues.
She also pushed for stricter gun control and attended events with gun control advocates, including Everytown for Gun Safety.
In 2017, she was named minority leader and became speaker in 2019 after the DFL gained a majority in the House. Hortman spearheaded efforts to pass police reform in 2020 following the George Floyd protests.
During this year’s session, the state House Republicans and the DFL engaged in a tense standoff over leadership after Republicans gained seats. A DFL boycott ended in February with a power-sharing agreement where Hortman retained the title of minority leader until a March special election created a tie in the House.
In this photo posted to his Facebook account, Mark Hortman is shown with Melissa Hortman and their children.
Mark Hortman/Facebook
Hortman and her husband were married for 31 years. Mark Hortman worked as a program manager for nVent Electric, a company that specialized in electronics, particularly green electronics, according to his Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Mark Hortman frequently posted photos and updates about his family on his Facebook page.
“A couple of weeks ago, I posted a video showing off how we taught our dog how to ring the doorbell when he wants to come inside. Well, now that dog has figured out that if he wants to play he rings the doorbell and then ding dong ditches us just to get us to come outside and play!,” he posted in 2023.
Melissa and Mark Hortman attend at Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer Labor Party’s annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner at the Minneapolis Hilton on Friday, June 13, 2025.
Minnesota House DFL Caucus
The couple attended the DFL’s annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner at the Minneapolis Hilton on Friday, according to the Minnesota House DFL Caucus.
They were killed on the same day as the birthday of Melissa Hortman’s father, her sister, Lieza Jean Haluptzok, told ABC News.
“We loved them dearly; they will be missed. It’s a horrible thing. I hope they catch him. And they get justice for what happened. It’s devastating,” she said Saturday afternoon.
Hoffman, 60, was elected to the State Senate in 2012.
Jim Abeler, John Hoffman, Jeremy Miller discuss senate business during a floor session, on Jan. 4, 2023. Jim Abeler is a Republican from Anoka, John Hoffman is a Democrat from Champlin, and Jeremy Miller is a Republican from Winona.
A.J. Olmscheid, Minnesota Senate Media Services
A Wyoming native, Hoffman earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary’s University and spent several decades working for various Minnesota businesses and non-profits, according to his campaign bio page.
He was the co-founder of Consumer Credit of Minnesota, a non-profit consumer assistance organization, and served on the Anoka Hennepin School Board starting in 2005, his bio said.
In 2012, he won the state senate seat for District 34 and would win reelection three more times.
In this photo posted to her Facebook page, Yvette Hoffman is shown.
Yvette Hoffman/Facebook
He served as the minority whip from 2017 to 2020 and is on the Senate’s Human Services committee.
“Throughout my career, I have been afforded many opportunities to assume progressive management roles, which have allowed me to gain and implement a unique set of expertise,” he wrote on his campaign page.
ABC News’ Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
