On Saturday morning, Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed. Earlier that night, State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were both wounded in a separate shooting. Police say the gunman posed as a police officer, wearing a badge, ballistic vest, and mask. He even outfitted his Ford SUV to look like a squad car.
The killings sent shockwaves through the state. Governor Tim Walz called them “politically motivated assassinations.” The suspect exchanged gunfire with officers outside the Hortmans’ home and managed to flee. Inside his vehicle, police later found a list of over 70 names: public officials, abortion providers, and community leaders across Minnesota and neighboring states.
Who Was Vance Boelter, the Man Behind the Minnesota Lawmaker Killings?
The man behind the badge wasn’t law enforcement. He was Vance Boelter, 57—a father of five, funeral worker, religious speaker, and self-described CEO of a small security firm called Praetorian Guard. He had been appointed to a state workforce board by two Democratic governors and once attended a virtual meeting alongside Sen. Hoffman.
Boelter’s life was marked by contradiction. He preached about peace and faith, but made veiled remarks against LGBTQ+ people in sermons posted online. He claimed to have worked in conflict zones like Gaza and Lebanon. He removed bodies from nursing homes by day and posted about American democracy on LinkedIn by night.
Authorities later discovered his Ford SUV had been modified to resemble a police cruiser. Inside: three AK-47s, a 9mm handgun, a fake badge, a ballistic vest—and the notebook with the target list.
See also: Who Is Vance Boelter? Inside the Life of the Man Behind the Minnesota Lawmaker Killings
The Last Message Came Too Late
Just hours before the shootings, Boelter sent a final text message to his roommate and longtime friend, David Carlson.
“Dead shortly. So, I just wanna let you know that I love you guys both, and I wish it hadn’t gone this way… I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”
Carlson read the message aloud in a video that has since gone viral. You can watch it here. His voice trembles as he tries to make sense of it.
“I wish I could have stopped him,” he said. “I mean, he was a loving, caring guy, you know? Loved his family, loved his friends and loved God. I don’t know why he did what he did.”
“He Was a Loving, Caring Guy”
Carlson doesn’t fit the mold of someone who brushes off warning signs. He’s known Boelter since fourth grade. The man he describes was religious, thoughtful, loyal.
But in hindsight, things weren’t stable. Boelter had recently prepaid four months’ rent. He’d spoken cryptically. He seemed tired. Distant.
The pain in Carlson’s voice isn’t just shock—it’s guilt. A guilt shared by so many who survive someone who causes harm. You think back. You wonder. You ask yourself: Was there a moment I missed? Was there a sign I ignored? Could I have changed this?
See also: The Images of Minnesota’s Masked Gunman Are More Disturbing Than You Think
A Message Full of Distance and Denial
The text Boelter sent reads like a goodbye—but it’s also full of evasion.
“I don’t want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you, you guys, don’t know anything about this.”
It’s the kind of sentence that walks a tightrope between apology and erasure. Between love and avoidance. And it reveals what so many people who commit violence leave behind: not answers, just wreckage.
@msnbc David Carlson, the roommate and best friend of the suspect in the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and the shooting another shared the last text message he received from him. The suspect is still at large as the manhunt for him continues. #minnesota #gunviolence #news ♬ original sound – MSNBC
The Violence Was Political. The Fallout Is Personal.
This wasn’t just a mass shooting. It wasn’t just domestic terrorism. It was intimate.
A friend is left reading a final message that says everything and nothing. Families are shattered. A community is left wondering how it got this far.
The most terrifying part? It didn’t come from a stranger in the dark. It came from someone with a smile. Someone who said “I love you.” And then pulled the trigger.
