Timeline: How an early morning assault against Minnesota lawmakers unfolded

Walker Orenstein, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 14, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were fatally shot early Saturday morning in what Gov. Tim Walz said appears to be a politically motivated assassination.

That came shortly after a gunman shot and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home in Champlin, according to authorities.

Here’s what officials have said about how the early morning attacks unfolded.

2 a.m. — Champlin Police respond to shooting

At about 2 a.m. Saturday, Champlin police got a call that Hoffman and his wife had been shot, said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Police responded to the family’s home, and the two were taken to the hospital for surgery, Evans said.

3:35 a.m. — Police check on Rep. Melissa Hortman’s home

Shortly after, at about 3:35 a.m., another call came in that two Brooklyn Park officers were proactively checking Hortman’s home several miles away, Evans said.

Those officers pulled down the street and saw what looked like a police SUV in the driveway with emergency lights on, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley. A person who appeared to be a police officer was at the door, coming out of the house.

When the officers confronted the person, the person immediately fired on police and retreated back into the house after exchanging gunfire, Bruley said.

Bruley said police “believe confidently” the suspect fled out of the back of the house.

The officers went into the house and saw a man hurt with a gunshot wound. They dragged him outside and attempted to give first aid, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.

Law enforcement surrounded the house and used a drone to enter the house and identify Hortman.

Bruley said the SUV at the scene “looked exactly like a police vehicle” and the suspect was wearing a vest, had a taser and other equipment and had a badge of some type. Bruley said “no question if they were in this room” the person would be mistaken for an officer.

9:46 a.m. — Gov. Walz decries targeted political violence

Walz told reporters at the state Emergency Operations Center that Hortman and her husband were shot and killed.

State and local law enforcement briefed the state on the timeline of events, speaking in front of a U.S. and Minnesota flag.

“Our state lost a great leader and I lost a dearest of friends,” Walz said. “Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor and a sense of service. She was a formidable public servant.”

Walz said Hortman is “irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.”

The governor said “peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy,” and that “we don’t settle our differences with violence, or at gunpoint.”

Walz said Minnesota lawmakers earlier this week had passed a state budget through the most politically divided Legislature in the country.

“We proved that it’s possible, even in these politically charged times to find compromise and adhere to the principles of democracy and civil discourse,” Walz said. “We must all, Minnesota and across the country stand against all forms of political violence.”