WASHINGTON — Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that authorities believe Vance Boelter, the 57-year-old suspect in a pair of “politically motivated” shootings, is still in the Midwest, noting that “he may be” in Minnesota and that authorities have put out an alert in South Dakota.
“We believe he’s somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “But right now, everyone is on edge here because we know that this man will kill at a second.”
A Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were killed early Saturday in what Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said appears to be “a politically motivated assassination.”
State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were severely injured, Walz said. Authorities have identified the shooting suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter of Minnesota.
Klobuchar emphasized that if people see Boelter, they “should not approach him, that they should immediately call the tip lines and report.”
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said on Saturday that they found a “manifesto” in Boelter’s vehicle with names of other officials.
An official who saw the list on the suspect’s “manifesto” previously told NBC News that it targeted prominent people in Minnesota who advocated for reproductive rights.
After the shootings, Klobuchar said that she has received extra security without her request.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Saturday statement that he asked the Capitol Police to “immediately increase security” for Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also put out a statement on Saturday saying that he asked the “the House Sergeant at Arms and United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of our Minnesota delegation and Members of Congress across the country.”
“I think they’re concerned about everyone,” Klobuchar said of receiving added security. She said that she does not have confirmation as to whether she was on Boelter’s list.
The senator said that she was concerned that “this guy is going to come up against just an innocent: Try to take their car, try to go into their house.”
“Because a lot of the political leaders in our state have received extra protection, but not the innocents out there,” she said.
Smith, who has discussed being on the suspect’s list, said in a Sunday interview on CNN that it was “deeply concerning” to be named. She said that “the level of threat that lawmakers are exposed to is just unacceptable.”
“I’m grateful that I personally feel safe, but this is no way for our government to work when people, any any number of us, feel this kind of personal threat,” Smith said on CNN.
Klobuchar mourned the loss of the couple killed, remembering that she was at a large political dinner with them the night before they died.
“Everyone was rejoicing, happy, the session’s behind them, and that was the last time so many of us saw Melissa and Mark,” Klobuchar said on NBC News, referring to the late lawmaker and her husband. “And the next morning, 5 a.m., the governor, Governor Walz, calls me and tells me that we believe that she’s no longer with us.”
Klobuchar remembered the late lawmaker as a friend, recalling how Hortman juggled being a mother, Sunday school teacher, girl scout leader, on top of her political career, eventually becoming “this extraordinary Speaker of the House.”
“When you think about political violence and the statistics of political violence, you’ve got to realize the people who are behind it and a true public servant that we lost,” Klobuchar said.
Erik Ortiz, Mirna Alsharif, Cristian Santana, Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Gabrielle Khoriaty contributed.
