In the US state of Minnesota, two Democratic politicians, Melissa Hortmann and her husband, and John Hoffmann and his wife, were shot.
The two American politicians Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman and their spouses were shot on Saturday in the American state of Minnesota. Melissa Hortman and her husband have died from their injuries. This was announced by the state’s governor, Tim Walz, at a press conference, according to the Reuters news agency.
Walz describes the incident as an apparently politically motivated assassination.
– An unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minneapolis.
– My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination, says Tim Walz.
60-year-old John Hoffman and 55-year-old Melissa Hortman have both been elected for the Democratic Party in the Minnesota state legislature in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively.
Melissa Hortman is a former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home in the Brooklyn Park neighborhood on the outskirts of Minneapolis.
Hoffman and his wife were shot in Champlin, another town on the outskirts of the state capital. It is unclear whether they were in their home when they were shot.
The perpetrator first shot the Hoffman couple in Champlin before continuing to Brooklyn Park and killing Melissa Hortman and her husband.
The police say that the suspected perpetrator was dressed as a police officer when he fired shots at the politicians and their spouses.
The suspected perpetrator fled the scene of the crime in Champlin on foot. He left a car behind, where police later found a document described as a manifesto with the names of a number of politicians and officials.
Before the suspect disappeared from Champlin, he fired shots at police officers who had responded to the area.
A major manhunt will begin in the evening Danish time.
US President Donald Trump says in a statement that he has been briefed on the shootings in Minnesota.
– Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States. God bless the wonderful people of Minnesota, says Trump.
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