Minnesota lawmaker who survived shooting shares chilling account of targeted attack

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife have revealed that they were shot a combined 17 times by the masked gunman who then “assassinated” another state lawmaker and her husband.

Hoffman was home with his wife, Yvette, and their daughter Hope after a Democratic fundraising dinner when they were “awakened by the sounds of pounding on the front door and shouts of someone seeking entry, identifying himself as a police officer” around 2 a.m. Saturday, they told KARE 11.

They opened the door to find a man pointing a gun at them.

“All three of us were in the entryway. John initially lunged at the gunman as the weapon was pointed directly at him, getting struck nine times,” the Hoffmans said.

“As John fell, Yvette reached out to push the man and shut the door, succeeding before she was also hit eight times by gunfire,” the statement said.

Their daughter, Hope, slammed and locked the door and immediately called 911, they said.

Boelter, 57, fled the scene. He made the short drive to Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman’s Brooklyn Park home, where he shot and killed her, her husband and the family dog, according to police.

“We are heartbroken to know that our friends Melissa and Mark Hortman were assassinated,” the Hoffmans said — adding that their daughter, Hope, and the Hortmans’ daughter, Sophie, both went to school together.

The Hoffmans are still recovering from their wounds after undergoing surgery. John is in a critical but stable condition, while his wife is in a stable condition, the statement said.

Boelter was arrested roughly 43 hours after the shootings following the largest manhunt in state history.

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The shootings are believed to be politically motivated. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz described the shootings as “targeted political violence.”

The gunman had a long hit list with 70 names of targets, which were largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or abortion rights, police said.

The Hoffmans acknowledged that they’ve surrendered their privacy in order John to serve as a public official, but said they are not “grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you.”

“As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully,” they said.

Boelter remains in federal custody on murder charges.