Raleigh native Mark Hortman and wife, lawmaker Melissa Hortman, were fatally shot in a suspected political attack in Minnesota.

Law enforcement officers on Sunday night arrested Vance Boelter, who is accused of assassinating Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home in Brooklyn Park as part of a larger plot to kill Democratic elected officials and other advocates of abortion rights.

Hortman and Hoffman shootings: Timeline of events so far originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Melissa Hortman, the Speaker Emeritus of the Minnesota House, was killed along with her husband in a suspected politically-motivated assassination early Saturday.

Melissa Hortman’ s influence at the Minnesota Capitol and her power as a Democratic leader to shape the course of a deeply divided Legislature were a far cry from her job as a teenager making chili-cheese burritos and overshadowed her volunteer work training service dogs for veterans.

The recent shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers have left the community shaken, sparking urgent talks about enhancing safety measures at the Capitol amid rising threats to officials.

Vance Boelter, suspect in the murder of a Minnesota lawmaker, led a bizarre life as a wannabe security boss, funeral worker, and preacher. His financial and mental struggles culminated in a politically charged attack.

Officers exchanged fire with Boelter, who fled inside the home before escaping. Officers then found the Hortmans inside suffering gunshot wounds. Melissa Hortman, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene, with Mark Hortman, 57, dying a short time later at North Memorial Hospital.

But there was a caring, apolitical gracefulness as well to Hortman, colleagues said. Garofalo said that in the days after the 2022 elections, when Democrats took control of state