By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Guns recovered by investigators in Minnesota following the assassination of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife included a Beretta Model 92, purchased by suspect Vance Luthor Boelter in January 2000.
No waiting period could have prevented the suspect from apparently using that 9mm pistol in the attacks. The disassembled gun was recovered by police officers “a few blocks from Representative Hortman’s home,” according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Investigators have recovered several firearms including semi-automatic rifles and pistols. The same affidavit says “According to records obtained by law enforcement, Boelter purchased three Beretta handguns, as well as many other firearms.”
This revelation suggests the suspect purchased these firearms legally, filling out paperwork in compliance with state and federal law.
Boelter, now facing state and federal charges, was apprehended late Sunday following an intensive manhunt that included—according to the affidavit—contact with his wife, and a consented search of her car during which “law enforcement recovered two handguns, approximately $10,000 in cash, and passports for Mrs. Boelter and her children.”
An earlier search of the suspect’s abandoned SUV resulted in the recovery of five firearms.
A curious profile of Boelter has emerged in a story published by the Wall Street Journal. The report said Boelter “had built a scattered career that included food companies, retailing and pastoring, according to public records and his online posts.” Elsewhere, the WSJ says Boelter’s online posts portray him as “a devout Christian and pastor, who preached at LaBorne Matadi, a church in the Congo…”
As reported earlier, anti-gunners in northern Minnesota are already calling for a “discussion” about guns, which translates to more gun control efforts.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis says t he 57-year-old Boelter “put into effect a calculated plan to inflict fear and violence upon Minnesota elected officials and their families” early in the morning of June 14.
Shortly after shooting Sen. Hoffman and his wife, Boelter allegedly drove to the Hortman residence in a nearby community, after apparently unsuccessfully visiting other addresses and getting no response. By the time he arrived at the Hortman residence, disguised as a police officer, genuine officers were responding with an area check after being alerted to the attack at the Hoffman home. They observed the suspect, who had allegedly mortally wounded the Hortmans, and fled on foot.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson described the murders as “targeted political assassinations the likes of which have never been seen in Minnesota.”
In a Tuesday editorial, the New York Post stated, “Perhaps Vance Boelter’s surface motives will turn out to be right-coded; perhaps they actually reflect some more personal grievances. No matter what, the prescription for the rest of us (left, right and center) remains the same either way: Tone down the political rhetoric.
“Just as it now looks like the kid who nearly killed President Donald Trump last year was disturbed, as was the guy who almost offed Rep. Gabby Giffords back in 2011 and were a host of other political shooters in the years in between,” the editorial adds.
“We’ll admit,” the Post editorial states, “we see the violence problem as worse on the left, and can’t help noticing that liberal lists of 15 years of such attacks often omit the Trump assassination attempt as well the Bernie Sanders fan’s 2017 targeting of House Republicans at softball practice that put Rep. Steve Scalise at death’s door.”
The editorial acknowledges problems of heated rhetoric on both sides of the political aisle, and admonishes people to “face the truth, and do better, or it’ll only get worse.”
