State representative Melissa Hortman and state senator John Hoffman, who was attacked by a shooter on Saturday, were members of the whole life of the Minnesota state legislature who spent years working to improve their communities, according to the leaders who knew them.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot dead at their home in Brooklyn Park at dawn on Saturday by a suspect who passed a police officer, the investigators said. They left two children.
Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier in the morning by the same suspect inside his home in Champlin. The couple, who has a daughter, was urgently transferred to a hospital and underwent surgery, said Governor Tim Walz.
The authorities said they identified Vance Boelter, 57, as a suspect while looking for the gunman.
In this January 3, 2023, archive photo, speaker of the Melissa Hortman House goes to the floor of the house in St. Paul, Minnesota | John Hoffman is a show during a floor session, on January 4, 2023.
ABBIE Parr/AP | AJ Olmscheid, media services of the Senate of Minnesota
Both state leaders were members of the Democratic Party -Farming -Labla (DFL) of Minnesota, a state party affiliated with the Democrats.
Hortman, 55, Nee Haluptzok, had the greatest experience in the state legislature. He obtained a degree in Political Science and Philosophy at Boston University and worked as an intern for then Sen. Al Gore and later Senator John Kerry, according to his campaign biography.
Hortman obtained a lawyer in the Law School of the University of Minnesota in 1995 and was secreted with Judge John Sommerville. Later he obtained a Harvard MPA in 2018.
Out of politics, Hortman worked as a private lawyer and offered his time at the Local School Board and Sunday School in the Saint Timothy Catholic Church in Blaine. First he ran for the position in 1998, for the position of the State Representatives Chamber, but lost.
The president of the House of Representatives, Melissa Hortman, looks at the gallery before marrying in the first session of the 2024 legislative session on February 12, 2024.
Andrew vonbank, Minnesota House Public Information Services
After another defeat for the same seat four years later, Hortman was chosen for the 47b district of the State in 2004.
Hortman quickly increased through the ranks of the camera, serving as an assistant leader of the majority from 2007 to 2010 and as Minority Whip from 2011 to 2012. She defended many causes, including reproductive rights and environmental problems.
He also pressed for a stricter control of weapons and attended events with arms control defenders, including Eventown for weapons safety.
In 2017, she was appointed minority leader and became a speaker in 2019 after the DFL obtained the majority in the house. Hortman headed the efforts to approve the police reform in 2020 after George Floyd’s protests.
During this year’s session, the Republicans of the State Representatives Chamber and the DFL participated in a tense confrontation about leadership after the Republicans obtained seats. A DFL boycott ended in February with a power exchange agreement where Hortman retained the title of minority leader until a special election of March created a draw in the house.
In this photo published on his Facebook account, Mark Hortman is shown with Melissa Hortman and his children.
Mark Hortman/Facebook
Hortman and her husband were married for 31 years. Mark Hortman worked as Programs Manager for NVVE Electric, a company specialized in electronics, particularly green electronics, according to its Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Mark Hortman frequently published photos and updates about his family on his Facebook page.
“A couple of weeks ago, I published a video that showed how we taught our dog how to touch the bell when he wants to enter. Well, now that dog has discovered that if he wants to play, he touches the bell and then Ding Dong leaves us just to leave and play!”, He published in 2023.
Melissa and Mark Hortman attend the annual Humphrey-Mondale dinner of the Minnesota Democratic Labor Party at Minneapolis Hilton on Friday, June 13, 2025.
Minnesota House Dfl Caucus
The couple attended DFL’s couple of Humphrey-Mondale in Minneapolis Hilton on Friday, according to the Caucus of Minnesota House DFL.
They were killed the same day as Melissa Hortman’s birthday, her sister, Liege Jean Haluptzok, told ABC News.
“We love them very much; we will miss them. It’s something horrible. I hope they catch it. And they get justice for what happened. It’s devastating,” he said Saturday afternoon.
Hoffman, 60, was chosen for the state Senate in 2012.
Jim Abeler, John Hoffman, Jeremy Miller discuss the Senate business during a floor session, on January 4, 2023. Jim Abeler is a Republican from Anoka, John Hoffman is a Champlin Democrat, and Jeremy Miller is a republican of Winona.
AJ Olmscheid, media services of the Senate of Minnesota
Hoffman, Native of Wyoming, obtained a degree from the University of Saint Mary and spent several decades working for several non -profit organizations in Minnesota, according to his Bio Page campaign.
He was co -founder of Credit Consumption of Minnesota, a non -profit organization of consumer assistance, and served at the Anka Hennepin school board since 2005, said his biography.
In 2012, he won the seat in the state Senate for District 34 and would win the re -election three more times.
In this photo published on its Facebook page, Yvette Hoffman is shown.
Yvette Hoffman/Facebook
He served as the 2017 minority whip to 2020 and is in the Senate Human Services Committee.
“Throughout my career, they have given me many opportunities to assume progressive management roles, which have allowed me to win and implement a unique set of experience,” he wrote on his campaign page.
Mark Guarino de ABC News contributed to this report.
