this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
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Two Minnesota state lawmakers were shot in apparent "targeted" incidents on Saturday that left them in grave condition, officials said, and a manhunt is now underway for the gunman.

A source familiar with the matter tells ABC News that the victims are state Sen. John Hoffman and state Rep. Melissa Hortman.

Both were shot at their homes and authorities believe the shooter was impersonating law enforcement, the source said.

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[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 101 points 1 day ago

Both Hoffman and Hortman are Democrats. Hortman is the former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Not surprised that it was Democrats that were shot and not Republicans.

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 84 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Both were shot at their homes and authorities believe the shooter was impersonating law enforcement, the source said.

Impersonating law enforcement, or actual law enforcement? If they don't have the suspect in custody yet, they have no idea whether they were impersonating law enforcement.

[–] chosensilence@pawb.social 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

i'd agree but if you read into how they discovered Hortman and her spouse it's because police were sent to the house of Sen. Hoffman and when they arrived they found him and his wife shot which caused them to proactively check on Sen. Hortman and her husband, but when they arrived they found her and her husband dead. doesn't make it not a cop but imitating them is far more common and this sounds politically motivated. they also found the suspect's manifesto with a list of names in his car outside Hortman's home.

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 4 points 4 hours ago

The article has been updated on this matter. They are now reporting that the officers encountered the suspect at Sen. Hortman's home when they arrived and exchanged gunfire.

After Hoffman was shot, officers were heading to pro-actively check on Hortman when they encountered the suspect at Hortman's Brooklyn Park home around 3:35 a.m., Evans said.

The officers found a person who was dressed as a police officer -- wearing a vest and a badge, and with a Taser and other equipment -- at the door, coming out of Hortman's house, police said.

The suspect fired at the officers; gunfire was exchanged and the suspect was able to escape and flee on foot, authorities said.

The suspect's vehicle -- which looked like a police vehicle, including police lights -- was in Hortman's driveway, authorities said.

As for how he got the gear and vehicle, the suspect and his wife run Praetorian Guard Services which advertises itself as a provider of armed security. They have weapons, body armor, tasers, and use Ford Explorer SUVs just like the local police do.

[–] neuromorph@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

At this point I wouldn't trust police reporting on themselves. Impersonated or otherwise.

If it was an active cop who did thw shooting and the police found evidence of this. Would they claim it was an impersonator or tell us the truth?

Law enforcement are the ones breaking the law, being violent, and terrorizing communities right now.

Regardless of whether this was law enforcement or impersonators, we must start recognizing law enforcement as the state's apparatuses for violence that it is.

The problem is not people pretending to be cops, it IS cops. Both historically and today.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

Actual impersonation. From a CNN article:

Around 3:35 a.m., another call came in when officers were proactively checking on Hortman’s home. When Brooklyn Park police officers arrived they noticed that there was a police vehicle in the driveway with emergency lights on and what appeared to be a police officer at the door, coming out of the house, officials said. That individual immediately fired a weapon at them, Evans said, and exchanged gunfire took place during which the suspect was able to escape.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/14/us/minneapolis-targeted-shooting

I don't think a cop doing this would shoot back at other cops. They'd report back that the perp was long gone and they saw nothing.

Edit: lol, the guy is a rent-a-cop

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 2 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

How did they get a police car ?

[–] atticus88th@lemmy.world 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Police auction old cruisers and explorers all the time. For some reason each department gets shiny new ones every 2 years.

They are usually stripped of most LE equipment but many still have the bumpers and hookups for light bars. Wouldn't take much to get it looking legit again.

Some people do just to fuck around with other people.

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 1 points 18 hours ago

I see, thanks

[–] frezik@midwest.social 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Dime a dozen. It's not hard to get a used cop car at auction.

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

oh wow. I assumed there would be protections in place to prevent that kind of thing

[–] obviouspornalt@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 15 hours ago

It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jKmuKjpKPIo

[–] obviouspornalt@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 21 hours ago

There's nothing lol about this.

[–] PunkRockSportsFan@fanaticus.social 70 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Arm yourselves. They have begun to purge.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 47 points 1 day ago

Don't just arm yourself.

Begin to collect information. Take mental notes on suspicious vehicles. Of a certain kind. Begin regular meetings with birds of a feather. Keep connecting with like minded people. Develop, even a limited understanding, of opsec and infosec. Learn a bit of GIS. Get onto a secure messaging system.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago

FOUR... four were shot. 2 are dead, 2 critically injured.

I went looking for a story to test posting on Piefed... first thing I find is a quadruple assassination attempt. 😬

[–] BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz 42 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well it's a GOOD THING Democrats are being Non Violent and Playing By The Rules! OTHERWISE Republicans might have excuses to ~~break into their homes with Hammers~~ ~~break Into their Offices while Wielding Weapons~~ ~~Attack their Office Buildings~~ Shoot them Point Blank! I'm sure as LONG as Democrats continue being Respectful this WONT happen again!

[–] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

You forgot kidnap. There was an attempt.

[–] Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org 10 points 1 day ago

Senator Elizabeth Gandhi Warren of Massachusetts had this to say:

This is terrorism.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's worth noting that Democrats had a majority of one seat in the Minnesota legislature, until this person killed one Democratic representative and tried to kill another.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Members of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL)

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

It's functionlly the same thing as the Democratic party.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Democratic%E2%80%93Farmer%E2%80%93Labor_Party

It's just what the state party calls itself.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Names like that are typically because of a merger, which the link confirms.

[–] Nora@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

fuck republicans they're all god damn traitors, even the ones who just voted Republican. I'm so disgusted with so many people in this country, even family. fuckers.

[–] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 1 points 3 hours ago

There is no Republican Party any more, it's the MAGA Nazi Party now, and ALL MAGAs are violent traitors and terrorists.

[–] CircaV@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 day ago

Yeah - I’m never going to the states again. Fuck that shithole country.

[–] chosensilence@pawb.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

y'know it doesn't bother me to target politicians but i just know the people who did this are fascists and i wouldn't be surprised if this was partly in response to the ICE protests in LA and how Trump and his team of demons are categorizing the demonstrations as liberal lefty chaos. these fascists ruin the effectiveness of a good execution.

[–] blargle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 hours ago

Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) (Kinyarwanda: Radiyo yigenga y'imisozi igihumbi), nicknamed "Radio Genocide" or "Hutu Power Radio", was a Rwandan radio station which broadcast from July 8, 1993, to July 31, 1994. It played a significant role in inciting the Rwandan genocide that took place from April to July 1994, and has been described by some scholars as having been a de facto arm of the Hutu regime in Rwanda.[1]

(From Wikipedia)